Majorelle Garden

An example of Majorelle Blue from the house in the garden

Majorelle Garden's cactus collection

A pergola and bleu Majorelle walls in Majorelle Garden

The Majorelle Garden (Arabic: حديقة ماجوريل‎‎) is a twelve-acre botanical garden and artist's landscape garden in Marrakech, Morocco. An archaeological museum, it contains the Islamic Art Museum of Marrakech. The edifice was designed by the expatriate French artist Jacques Majorelle in the 1920s and 1930s, during the colonial period when Morocco was a protectorate of France.

History

Majorelle was the son of the Art Nouveau ébéniste of Nancy, Louis Majorelle. Though Majorelle's gentlemanly orientalist watercolors are largely forgotten today (many are preserved in the villa's collection), the gardens he created are his creative masterpiece. The special shade of bold cobalt blue which he used extensively in the garden and its buildings is named after him, bleu Majorelle—Majorelle Blue.

Gallery

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The garden hosts more than 15 bird species that are endemic to North Africa. It has many fountains, and a notable collection of cacti.

Yves Saint-Laurent

The garden has been open to the public since 1947. Since 1980 the garden has been owned by Yves Saint-Laurent and Pierre Bergé.

After Yves Saint Laurent died in 2008 his ashes were scattered in the Majorelle Garden.

Islamic Art Museum

The garden also houses the Islamic Art Museum of Marrakech, whose collection includes North African textiles from Saint-Laurent's personal collection as well as ceramics, jewelry, and paintings by Majorelle.

External links

• Jardin Majorelle website