Oskar Kokoschka
1928-1929
Oil paint on canvas
86.5 x 112.3 cm
This view of the Place Bab Souika in Tunis (Tunisia) was painted from the roof of a greengrocer’s shop. The city’s great domed mosque can be seen at the far left of the work. Oskar Kokoschka attempted to achieve a broad view of the sense with an elliptical horizon, similar to the effect of a wide-angled lens. The foreground captures the variety of colours and ceaseless flow of human activity that enthralled Kokoschka on his trip through North Africa.