A really most impressive entry to the art biography shelf of the graphic novel canon, this also goes heavily into potential fiction – and beyond. Matisse and his wife Amelie have travelled to Tangier, leaving a Parisian art world poised on the discovery of Cubism and all that nonsense. He needs the break, which becomes weeks, as to start with all it does is lash it down, the rain drowning out any sense of the colours and light and feel of Morocco. But eventually, with the help of a beguiling local prostitute employed to pose for him, called Zorah, he finds his way into seeing what the location and its effects might lend to his art. And at the same time, an Arabian Nights-styled story, told over multiple modelling sessions, bit by bit might just find its way into our understanding of Zorah...

You'd be hard-pushed to expect a triumvirate of stories – his, hers, and the legend she narrates – to come easily. But this is effortless. It upsets the reader a lot more than expected when it seems we'll never get the final quarter of her tale, but the book never forgets that Matisse, dropping his suit and hat for local garb for his second trip to Tangier, is the character that changes the most over these pages. That said, this is more a fictional episode in the man's life, and there is a case to say this fantasy will not find favour with all of those buying it as an art biography. The style changes depending on whoever is narrating, or if we're seeing his sketches, but it didn't quite convince as a reproduction or being through his eyes. It's certainly worth the look, though, and to repeat the three stories for the price of one is a really welcome achievement. A strong four stars.

That was absolutely beautiful and tragic. I love it. Show stopping. Excellent storytelling. Vibrant and careful colour pallet lends itself well to this story.

I adored the color palette and use of contrast in this graphic novel, as well as the line art style of drawings. The palette would build throughout the story, starting with two colors and slowly adding in more shades as Matisse found inspiration for his work. I wasn't too invested in the story through the beginning, but by the bittersweet end it did tug at my heartstrings.

The artwork was really pretty, reminding me of the subject of this book: Henri Matisse. At first, I didn’t care for the story within the story, but I like how it connected to the characters in the book at the end.

A gorgeously crafted graphic novel showcasing Henri Matisse’s artistic sojourn to Tangiers, Morocco - and the woman who inspired his 1912 work “Zorah on the Terrace”.

The art is the real showstopper here - I often think an artist must possess a particular kind of bravery in order to illustrate the lives of their fellow artists, and Abdel de Bruxelles more than rises to the occasion with his soft and expressive artwork.

A beautiful and interesting, if somewhat brief, read - best enjoyed on a rainy day with a good pot of mint tea.

Thanks so much to Europe Comics and NetGalley for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The art was beautiful, it was dreamy whimsical and captivating. It even made me do further research on Matisse and his work. I would happily read more by this author, be it more on artists or any other subject matter.
The story itself was touching, even heartbreaking. I felt more the characters in the story than I have felt for any others in my recent reads.

Truth be told, I was probably just not the right audience for this graphic novel. I struggled to get into the story and my attention wandered easily. The art style was interesting and the story seemed well done, it just wasn't for me. Probably a great read for big French art fans however!

I really liked it! It was a very new and different read for me, but I love Matisse and I usually love stories about artists so I decided to give it a go. The artwork in this is fantastic and vibrant. The story is cute, but doesn't have a great deal of substance. Still, it's entertaining and I feel like this book would be good to gift a friend! Calling it a romance is reaching, but there are for sure elements of love in here. Love of a profession, love of a country and some long lost love. Though not directly.

This is a really beautiful graphic novel about the time that Matisse spent in Tangier searching for material to paint and largely being thwarted by the weather. It has a sub-plot about the woman that he ends up painting, which is quite intriguing but sort of abruptly stops. One assumes this is because this is what happened in real life, but it is hard to know. The art by Abdel de Bruxelles really makes this. I thought it might be Matisse like, but it isn't. It's elegant and often monochromatic but so beautifully detailed.

I thought this was an amazing graphic novel. Usually I find pacing a tough challenge in graphic novels, but the pacing in this story flowed beautifully. As soon as I started reading, I knew that I would love the artwork. It reminded me of the comic book art of the mid to late 1900’s, and the colours were divine.
I loved being able to see a small portion of these characters’ lives, and I was left to wonder what happened to them at the end. This book didn’t have the brightest ending, which made me sad, so I praise it for giving me such a strong emotion in such a short amount of pages.
During my read of this book, I had to look up the paintings described, and the fast that they actually existed added a whole other dimension to the story.
Overall, this is one of the best graphic novels I’ve ever read, and I’d highly recommend.

Warning: this book is NOT for children. It contains scenes of abuse and contains prostitution, both of which is not suitable for children.

4.5/5

To start off, the artwork is FANTASTIC! Loved the colour palette!

I don't know much about art so I wasn't very familiar with Matisse or the city of Tangier, and I am glad I was introduced to both through this book. It made me want to look up more of Matisse's work online including his piece 'Zorah on the Terrace', which is central to the graphic novel's storyline, and take a trip to Tangier soon.

The story is probably mostly fictional but I liked and enjoyed it a lot. It had some very interesting characters (Amido has my heart) and plot points. I also liked the subtle humour and the use of an Arabian Nights-esque storytelling device for Zorah's arc.

A big thank you to the publishers and Netgalley for giving me an e-ARC of this book. I had a very good time reading it.

This pleasant graphic novel is about the painter Matisse and his visit to Tangier. During his two visits, he paints the people, scenery, and a woman named Zorah- whom this story is mostly about. The story is light, but melancholy. It would have been nice if the book included some of his actual works from that visit/timeframe.

This short graphic novel highlights Henri Matisse's trips to Tangier, Morocco in the 1910s. Like all artists, he searched for inspiration and was keen to differentiate himself from his contemporaries like Picasso. Henri and his wife Amelie are welcomed with heavy rainfall in Tangier which dampens his mood until he gets the idea of inviting subjects to pose for him at his hotel. That's when he meets an exciting muse that kept enthralled.

The illustrator picked a beautiful colour palette of blues, oranges and browns to give contrasts to the various scenes and emotions. TThe author's inclusion of folklore keeps the audience interested and furthers the plot. Overall, it was an interesting read.

An interesting with a hidden meaning. I definitely didn't expect this story to turn out the way it is. The illustrations are beautiful and it blends really well with the overall book. All in all, a really great read and would recommend it to other readers if they're looking for a meaningful book set in beautiful Tangier, Morocco.

The story follows Henri Matisse and his work in Tangier, intertwined with the story of Zorah - his model. The illustrations were so pretty! I absolutely love the use of colour. The ending was super abrupt and I felt like the whole plot beforehand really dragged, on only to come to it’s finish so quick!

I loved the drawing and the story. I didn't know anything about this part of Matisse life and the story made me learned something new.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

The French painter Matisse took two trips to Tangier and this graphic novel is about that time period.

I really love the drawings, which are very colourful and expressive yet simple and calm.
While I liked the story, the ending came very abrupt and I felt left hanging. Even adding an extra page would probably be enough to get rid of this feeling.

I know nothing about what really happened, and thus can't say how accurately this depiction is.
Would recommend if you want a travel story, like I did, and if you like stories in a story.

The arc was provided by the publisher.

(3.5/5) I enjoyed this quick graphic novel about painter Henri Matisse in Tangier! Can't say that it's long enough to make me feel invested in any of the characters (both real and fictional in this case), but still an enjoyable read. The art was well done.

Decent plot however pacing could have been a tad bit faster as it felt really slow. Artwork was different from what I have seen before and expected more detail as it is a comic about a painter. Characters were okay but not really any that stood out to me which includes the main characters.