Hanging in front of you at eye level is the painting ‘Grain Market in Fez’. It measures 50 cm high and 66 cm wide. It was painted by Jules van Biesbroeck, probably some time between 1925 and 1965.

Squatting in the foreground on the right of the painting is a grain seller enveloped in a white robe, which leaves only his eyes and nose free. Biding his time, he gazes at us with a sleepy and slightly bored expression, as if he was the spectator. This immediately sets the scene. His pose conveys the impression of the slow passage of time. The two brown cushions lying next to him reinforce that impression.

The scene takes place in Fez, one of the largest cities in Morocco where the artist lived for a while. In 1925 he visited Algeria for the first time and in 1935 he went from there to Morocco. After his stay in North Africa, he became best known as a painter of oriental scenes. The southern colours and sun-drenched atmosphere found in this painting are typical of his work. Here sand colours reminiscent of a desert landscape fill the picture and once again underline the sense of stagnation.

The background of the painting shows the activity normally associated with a market. Similarly dressed market vendors have gathered there under a sort of tent. To the left of that three men load a donkey, presumably with sacks of grain. The figures look rather static; even the donkey seems to be standing stock-still. Though people are out and about, the scene nevertheless conveys a sense of inertia and stillness.