The Sage of Bab Sbaa

A head-and-shoulders figure wrapped in a dark hood, set against a field split between umber dark and bone light, so the face comes forward out of its own shadow. Ivory, graphite and warm taupe. The folds of the cloth stay loose and visible; the face is worked smooth — that contrast is where the tension sits.

Bab Sbaa is one of the old gates of Essaouira, and the painting is built like a threshold: someone standing at the edge of the medina at dusk, watching who comes through and refusing to explain why. The title keeps the gate rather than inventing a name for the sitter.

Oil on canvas. Signed. Dimensions on request. Wax-sealed certificate of authenticity included.