| Intro | Moroccan painter |
| Is | Artist |
| From | Morocco |
| Type | Arts |
| Gender | male |
| Birth |
Morocco, Morocco |
Muhammad Ben Ali ar-Ribati (Arabic: محمد بن علي الرباطي) was one of the earliest Moroccan painters. As his surname suggests, Ribati was born in Rabat in 1861. However, he was based in Tangier, where—though he had no formal training—he was supported by European artists, and where he had access to materials for watercolors.
In 1903, Ribati became a cook for the Irish painter Sir John Lavery, who first settled in Morocco in 1890. Lavery noticed that Ribati was a gifted watercolor painter.
Exhibitions
Ribati’s first exhibition was at the Goupil Gallery in London in 1916. His second exhibition was in Marseille, France in 1919, and his third was at the Mamounia hotel in Marrakesh in 1922.
Style
Ribati preferred watercolor on paper as a medium over oil on canvas. He frequently painted Tangier, its qasba, and its inhabitants. He painted simplified human figures, and often painted a large, colorful scene with several people. He always signed his paintings in A|ic.