Painting from Morocco
Casablanca School and Modernism
On display are the artistic production of some of the major exponents of Moroccan painting.
In particular, a series of assets from the 1950s, crucial years for the nation having become independent in 1956, to today between Rabat, Marrakech and Casablanca.
Artists who have developed their own artistic languages, in some cases self-taught, such as painters Fatima Hassan El Farouj and Chaibia Talal with their naive figures that reflect local customs and traditions, or as in the case of Jilali Gharbaoui, who in her abstract works has incorporated the teachings she received at the Academy of Art in Paris and transcended them by giving form to the light, materiality, and strength of her homeland.
Hassan El Glaoui also lived abroad, mostly between Paris and New York, but his paintings always depicted moments of traditional Moroccan life, fantasies filled with men on horseback as a symbol of freedom.
The artistic production of Farid Belkahia is also somehow connected to tradition. Drawing on traditional Moroccan leather and metalwork, he creates abstract bas-reliefs in which natural forms blend and intertwine. A unique blend of tradition and modernism was Mohamed Melehi, one of the founders of the Casablanca School movement, who often depicted waves in his works that transform as they unfold across the canvas. These depictions were inspired by the artist’s observation of tribal products such as Glaoui rugs from the Amazigh tradition.
The artists
Ahmed Cherkaoui
Ahmed Cherkaoui was born in 1934 in Boujad, in central Morocco, in a context deeply influenced by the popular culture, rituals, and symbolic systems of Moroccan tradition.
Go to the artist's profile and view the works Ahmed Cherkaoui
Chaibia Talal
Chaibia Talal Chaibia Talal was born in 1929 in Chtouka, a rural area of Morocco, in a context marked by poverty, agricultural work…
Farid Belkaia
Farid Belkahia was born in 1934 in Marrakech, in a Morocco still under the French protectorate.
Fatima Hassan El Farouj
Fatima Hassan El Farouj is a Moroccan artist whose research is part of a generation that has contributed to broadening and articulating the panorama of contemporary art in Morocco, placing at its centre questions related to identity
Go to the artist's profile and view the works Fatima Hassan El Farouj
Fatna Gbouri
Fatna Gbouri was born in 1924 in Tnine El Gharbia, a rural area in the province of Safi, in an environment marked by simple living conditions and strong roots in community and family traditions.
Hassan El Glaoui
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.
Go to the artist's profile and view the works Hassan El Glaoui
Jacques Majorelle
Jacques Majorelle was born in 1886 in Nancy, France, into an artistic environment linked to the Art Nouveau movement.
Go to the artist's profile and view the works Jacques Majorelle
Jilali Gharbaoui
Jilali Gharbaoui was born in 1930 in Jorf El Melha, Morocco, in a rural and modest context that profoundly influenced her sensitivity.
Go to the artist's profile and view the works Jilali Gharbaoui
Mohamed Fquih Regragui
Mohamed Fquih Regragui was born in 1948 in Rabat, in a Morocco that, in the post-war period, was undergoing profound political, social and cultural changes.
Go to the artist's profile and view the works Mohamed Fquih Regragui
Mohamed Kacimi
Mohamed Kacimi was born in 1942 in El Jadida, on the Atlantic coast of Morocco.
Go to the artist's profile and view the works Mohamed Kacimi
Mohammed Ben Ali R’bati
Mohammed Ben Ali R’bati was born around 1861 in Rabat, Morocco, in a humble social context and far from the official art circuits.
Go to the artist's profile and view the works Mohammed Ben Ali R’bati
The sections of the exhibition
The exhibition was born from the encounter between Samuele Manin’s curatorial vision and the research and collecting work carried out by Paolo Giglio, together with his father Bruno Giglio.
The Sguardi sull’Africa project was also born as a gesture of gratitude towards the city of Piacenza.
Paolo and Bruno Giglio have chosen to share this heritage through a major public exhibition, recognizing Piacenza as a place capable of hosting and promoting a cultural project of international scope. In this sense, the exhibition is a gift to the city and its visitors, designed to foster knowledge, dialogue, and openness.
FROM MARCH 1
TO MAY 17, 2026
Palazzo Gotico
Piazza Cavalli, Piacenza
OPENING:
Mon-Fri: 10:00-13:00 / 15:00-18:00
Sat-Sun: 10.00am-7.00pm
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