Hassan El Glaoui, Allegeance, 2010. Tempera on isorel, 77×107 cm. Giglio collection.

Hassan El Glaoui was born in 1924 in Marrakech, into one of the most influential families in Morocco: he was the son of the Pasha of Marrakech, Thami El Glaoui.

He grew up in an environment of power and privilege, but from a young age he demonstrated an artistic sensibility that developed spontaneously and independently, far from the political and social expectations associated with his name. Drawing and painting became for him a language of freedom, a personal space in which to observe and reinterpret the world around him.

His talent emerged early. While still a teenager, his work caught the attention of Winston Churchill, who, during a stay in Morocco, was impressed by his paintings and convinced his father to allow him to study art.
This event marked a turning point: El Glaoui moved to Paris, where he attended the École des Beaux-Arts and explored European figurative painting, deepening his understanding of techniques, composition, and the use of color.

Despite his Western education, Hassan El Glaoui never lost his connection with Morocco. Indeed, the distance strengthened his desire to express its culture and traditions through painting.

Upon his return to his homeland, he developed an instantly recognizable figurative language, centered on one of the most emblematic subjects of Moroccan culture: the horse. His famous fantasy scenes—pictorial reenactments of traditional equestrian displays—became the heart of his artistic production.

In El Glaoui’s paintings, the horse is not merely a decorative element, but a powerful symbol of energy, nobility, movement, and identity. The equestrian figures are often depicted running, captured in a moment of dynamic tension, with riders dressed in traditional garb and ceremonial weapons. The color is intense, warm, and sometimes bold; the brushstrokes are decisive, conveying rhythm and vitality. The composition, while remaining figurative, tends toward a formal synthesis that makes the images immediate and powerfully evocative.

Alongside fantasy scenes, El Glaoui paints portraits, landscapes, and moments of Moroccan daily life. His works convey a world observed with affection and participation, free of idealizing nostalgia but rich in cultural pride. His painting does not seek to document in an ethnographic sense, but rather to convey a visual and emotional experience, capable of communicating with an international audience.

Since the 1950s, Hassan El Glaoui has exhibited regularly in Morocco, Europe, and the United States, gaining growing recognition. His works have been included in public and private collections, contributing to the diffusion of an image of contemporary Moroccan art based on the continuity between tradition and modernity. While not adhering to avant-garde movements, El Glaoui established an independent position, faithful to an expressive and personal figuration.

Hassan El Glaoui died in 2018. Today, he is considered a central figure in 20th-century Moroccan painting. His work demonstrates how art can emerge from the encounter between different worlds—aristocracy and common people, tradition and modernity, Morocco and Europe—transforming cultural identity into a powerful and shareable visual narrative. Through his galloping horses, El Glaoui continues to express the strength, movement, and memory of an entire country.

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