A striking departure from the familiar landscapes of France, Maurice Martin’s paintings of Madagascar offer a rare and radiant glimpse into the artist’s travels beyond Europe. Painted in 1960, the year Madagascar gained its independence from France, these works form a powerful and timely series, one that reflects not only Martin’s artistic evolution but also a moment of profound historical transition. Awarded the Prix de Madagascar at the Paris Salon in the same year, these compositions were celebrated from the outset for their originality and emotional clarity. Yet they also stand as subtle records of a newly sovereign nation, viewed through the eyes of a French painter who approached his subject with empathy, light and respect. Unlike colonial depictions of earlier decades, Martin’s Madagascar is not exoticised, but observed: its adobe villages, tropical vegetation and red earth rendered with the same honesty and painterly integrity that defined his French scenes. The works glow with Martin’s hallmark warmth using tones such as ochres, dusty reds and jade greens, applied with broad, expressive brushstrokes and lit from within. Figures move through the landscape with purpose and ease, their forms integrated into the land rather than imposed upon it. There is a rhythm here that feels rooted in place, shaped by experience rather than projection. As a central figure of the Moret School, Martin had long been associated with the en plein air tradition. In these Madagascan works, that sensibility expands outward, responding to new terrain, light and cultural textures while remaining grounded in his essential style. We are exceptionally fortunate to have discovered this rare group of paintings depicting Martin’s Madagascan subjects. Combined with his peaceful yet vividly coloured French rural scenes, this unprecedented collection reveals the true breadth of his talent. It showcases an artist equally attuned to the poetry of his homeland and to the light, rhythm and richness of a distant landscape with each painting rendered with authenticity, empathy and the painter’s quiet grace.