Marrakech Cobalt
- juliascott6
- Mar 16
- 2 min read
Some colours whisper.
Some colours shout.
And then there are colours that stop you in your tracks.
During my recent trip to Marrakech I visited Le Jardin Majorelle, and even under a grey sky the colour that fills the garden felt almost electric.
That extraordinary blue — now known as Majorelle Blue — doesn’t simply decorate the garden.
It defines it.
The garden was created by French artist Jacques Majorelle in the 1920s and 30s. Over time he developed this intense cobalt shade, painting walls, fountains, pots and architectural details so that the entire space feels immersed in colour.
Some places are remembered through colour before anything else. I have got into a lovely habit of taking a little sketchbook and some watercolours when I go away. Of course I take a million photos on my iphone as well, but there is something about sitting in a gorgeous place and trying to capture it the old fashioned way that makes you really look…you see the reflections of the brightly coloured pots in the water; the delicate flowers; the extraordinariness of a cactus.
It helps me to absorb it all and fix it in my mind.
Walking through the garden you begin to understand why artists have always been drawn here.
Cobalt walls.
Yellow pottery.
Terracotta paths.
Green cacti.
Every colour feels deliberate.
The blue itself sits somewhere between cobalt, ultramarine and lapis.
Next to the green of the garden, it almost glows.
Majorelle designed the garden as a kind of living artwork.
Plants, architecture and colour working together.
There are quiet corners everywhere.
Places to stop and simply absorb the colour.
I’ve always been drawn to cobalt tones but this garden took it to a whole other level.
One artwork that captures my love of cobalt particularly strongly is the painting below — where layers of cobalt and turquoise move like water, with delicate metallic copper leaf falling through the composition like light.
I’m sure I will be using more of this gorgeous colour in future paintings!
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