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The Zafer Style in Mauritian Classrooms

Writer: Pascal Lagesse
Pascal Lagesse
Jun 3, 2021
3 min read

Updated: 7 minutes ago

Some of the things that have touched me most as a painter have nothing to do with sales or galleries. One of them has been discovering that the Zafer Style has found its way into Mauritian classrooms. I was speechless when the Mauritius Institute of Education asked me whether I had any objection to being featured in the school art program. Since 2017, a few of my paintings have appeared as examples in the Grade 7 art and design textbooks used in our schools. I had no part in that decision, which is precisely why it means so much. Someone thought the work might be useful to children learning to look, and that is a gift I did not expect.


"Art & Design Grade 7 – Let's make Art," the official Mauritian secondary school art textbook published by the Mauritius Institute of Education under the Ministry of Education. The colourful artist's-palette cover, with paintbrush and paint splashes, highlights the course's three strands: Creating in 2D, Creating in 3D, and Visual Literacy, based on the National Curriculum Framework for Grades 7, 8 & 9 (2017).
Art and design grade 7 Mauritius

A small teaching tool


What I like is the purpose the pictures serve. One chapter uses my paintings to help children learn to read and analyse artwork. Baobab, Mont Desert Alma, Morne Ciel Rouge, La Charrette and Grand-Port are printed there, with simple notes on the bright colours and the graphic lines. The textbook links the brushwork to Van Gogh, one of the painters I have always looked up to, and I was happy about that. If my pictures send a young person off to discover a great artist, they have done something worthwhile.

I am a painter who is still learning. The idea that my landscapes might help an eleven-year-old understand colour, pattern and composition a little better is worth more to me than any label could be.


Two pages from the official Mauritian Grade 7 "Art & Design" textbook (Mauritius Institute of Education) featuring the work of painter Pascal Lagesse. The first is a dedicated artist profile — noting he was born in August 1968 and paints Mauritian landscapes in bright tropical colours with graphic lines reminiscent of Van Gogh — illustrated with the Zafer-style works Baobab, Mont Desert Alma, Morne ciel rouge, Herbes rousses et morne, La charette, Peter Both 2 and Grand-Port. The second page, on Composition, uses Lagesse's paintings Coin de Mire and Après-midi à Cap Malheureux
Art and Design Grade 7 - Mauritius

The students who came to ask


The part I never saw coming happened later. Over the past five years, ninety-three students preparing for the Cambridge Higher School Certificate chose the Zafer style as a reference for their examination papers, and they came to talk to me about it. I am grateful to each of them for the interest, and a little humbled that they gave the work such careful thought.

These are not light conversations. The students arrive with genuine, sometimes difficult questions about why I build my pictures, why I use patterns in my style, how I choose my colours, and why I became a painter. For this last question, I usually tell them I couldn't become a banker like my father or an accountant like my mother, and I became an artist not by choice but by nature. They had already studied the work closely before we met, so their questions touched the core of my art and answering them was often challenging.

What also moves me is where the students come from. Their schools cover much of the island, from Port-Louis to Mahébourg, from Curepipe and Rose-Hill to Flacq, Triolet, Bambou-Virieux and Rivière-Noire. Three of them came from farther away: Qatar, Kazakhstan, and Quebec. A style rooted in Mauritian light travelled through these young people to places I have never sent it to.


Mauritian artist Pascal Lagesse leads an art session with students at Keats College in Chemin Grenier, presenting one of his vibrant Zafer-style paintings — a colourful family portrait — to a small group. Sharing the style he created, now taught in Mauritian secondary schools, Lagesse connects young art students directly with contemporary local painting. A photograph from one of the artist's school visits across Mauritius, passing on the Zafer tradition to the next generation. Keywords: Pascal Lagesse, Keats College, Chemin Grenier, Zafer style, art education Mauritius, school visit, artist workshop, Mauritian art, art in schools, contemporary Mauritian art, student engagement, art teaching, Mauritian culture, local artist.
Visit to Keats college - Chemin Grenier

Visiting the schools

Alongside the interviews, I have been invited to present my work in thirteen schools, and those days have been a real pleasure. I show the children how a painting is built up layer by layer. I always adapt my talks to the children's age, from 7-year-olds to 18-year-olds. The approach is very different, but I find equal happiness in visiting primary and secondary schools. Explaining the Zafer style is always a challenge since I don't really understand it myself. It's such an intuitive style that it is always a challenge to find words to describe it. Most of the time, my wife Carol accompanies me on these visits. Her presence matters a lot to me. She always finds the words I am looking for, and she gives me emotional support. With my mood fluctuations and fragile mental health, it's very difficult for me to be in front of a classroom, and Carol is always here to reassure me.


Mauritian artist Pascal Lagesse leads an art session at Clef French Learning Classes in Quatre Bornes, presenting his vibrant Zafer-style paintings to a group of young students. A large screen displays his colourful work while one of his canvases — a pink-blossomed tree — sits on the desk. Sharing the style he created, now taught across Mauritius, Lagesse introduces the next generation to contemporary local art. A photograph from one of the artist's many school and class visits. Keywords: Pascal Lagesse, Clef French Learning Classes, Quatre Bornes, Zafer style, art education Mauritius, artist workshop, school visit, Mauritian art, art in schools, contemporary Mauritian art, children's art class, art teaching, Mauritian culture, local artist.
Visit to CLEF french learning classes - Quatre-Bornes

Mauritian artist Pascal Lagesse presents his work to students at Floréal State Secondary School, sharing the Zafer style he created — now taught in Mauritian secondary schools. Several of his vibrant paintings, including a colourful dodo and a patterned mountain landscape, are displayed for the assembly. A photograph from one of Lagesse's school visits, connecting young Mauritians with contemporary local art and the story behind the Zafer style. Keywords: Pascal Lagesse, Floréal State Secondary School, Zafer style, art education Mauritius, school visit, artist talk, Mauritian art, art in schools, contemporary Mauritian art, art workshop, student engagement, Mauritian culture, local artist.
Visit to Floréal State Secondary School

Mauritian artist Pascal Lagesse gives a live drawing demonstration to young pupils at Lighthouse Primary and Secondary School in Calebasses. Sketching on the whiteboard as the children watch from the floor, he shares the Zafer style he created — now taught across Mauritius. Colourful pupil artworks line the classroom wall behind him. A photograph from one of the artist's many school visits, introducing the youngest generation to contemporary Mauritian art and drawing. Keywords: Pascal Lagesse, Lighthouse School, Calebasses, Zafer style, art education Mauritius, live drawing demonstration, school visit, artist workshop, Mauritian art, art in schools, contemporary Mauritian art, children's art class, art teaching, local artist.
Visit to Lighthouse Primary & Secondary School - Calebasses

Why I think it matters


These encounters have left me with a simple conviction. Bringing artists into schools to share what they love is one of the surest ways to grow an interest in art and culture. A textbook page opens a door. An artist in the room, answering questions and sharing with the children, helps them step through it. Art education is not a luxury. It teaches young people to see, interpret, and make meaning, and it tells them that their own island and their own imagination are worth painting. If, in some small way, I have encouraged a few of these students to pick up a brush, then I am content.

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