Abend in Tanger
Driven by the desire to see mysterious countries and cultures, and attracted by the magical spectrum of colours down by the sea, Franco Thamér would disappear time and time again - even as a child. At the age of twelve, he crossed the Alps on his bicycle, ascending the pass hooked onto the back of a lorry. In Trieste, Italy, he smuggled himself onto a freighter using the passport of an older person. His ship was sailing for Africa - and that’s how he made it in his younger days to Tangiers.
The almost magical atmosphere of the North African port - where the shimmer and gleam of the setting sun merged with the shadows of the gently rocking sailing boats, and the soft rolling of the waves blended to create a melange of the senses- held his fascination for quite some time to come. The spectrum of colours, which moved him physically, inspired him to do the picture ‘Evening in Tangiers’, which he painted from memory many years later.