Market in Tunis
- Artist: Oskar Kokoschka
- Date: 1928 - 1929
- Medium: oil on canvas
- Museum: The Courtauld Gallery
- Collection record: The Courtauld Gallery website
Listen to the free audio guide
About this artwork
This is the Market in Tunis by Oskar Kokoschka. Painted in 1928‑1929 with oil on canvas, it captures a bustling scene from the roof of a greengrocer’s shop in Place Bab Souika. The great domed mosque of the city sits proudly at the far left, anchoring the composition.
Kokoschka’s eye‑catching technique is the “two focus perspective” he devised, stretching an elliptical horizon that feels like a wide‑angled photograph. It pulls the viewer into the foreground, where bright produce stalls and a ceaseless flow of people burst with color and motion—exactly what drew him to the African trip.
He worked on this canvas for a full week, and after nearly finishing it, he famously fell through the shop roof, easel and all—an anecdote that echoes the energy of the scene itself.
The painting feels alive, as if the viewer can hear the chatter of vendors and the clatter of carts from the rooftop view. The combination of bold colors, sharp perspective, and a moment of real-life drama makes “Market in Tunis” a vivid snapshot of North African life seen through the restless, expressive hand of Kokoschka.
See it in person
Market in Tunis hangs in The Courtauld Gallery at Somerset House, London. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
