Market in Algiers

Market in Algiers is a famous painting from August Macke and underlines the influence left on him from a visit to Northern Africa.

It was specifically the saturation of natural light found in this region which astonished him. His work would never be the same again as a result of this trip of a mere few weeks. Tunisia and Morrocco have had a similar impact on other artists, too, and their style of architecture has also been a great source of interest to a number of European artists. The markets of this type of culture are always a key point of modern day life and thriving with activity, August Macke chooses to depict a scene from a nearby market on his holiday here.

This painting appears to have been completed using watercolours, as shown by the effect of water that can be spotted in some parts of the composition. Macke used oils and watercolours at different times in his career, the latter being a somewhat more easily portable medium which was therefore ideally suited to trips such as this. He enjoyed this art form a lot but ultimately found it easier to gain interest in his oil paintings, and so worked with that more frequently.

Macke produced some depictions of life in Tunisia during his time there whilst other paintings followed upon his return to Europe. He created a lot of study drawings in sketchbooks that could then be used as the basis for paintings within his studio. This was a common technique at the time for artists on the move, before being replaced in most cases by photography. He would later return to Tunisia, again seeking the inspiration from the initial trip that so impacted his career.