Biographie
Théophile-Jean Delaye (1896-1970) was a French artist and military topographer, recognized as one of the first cartographers of modern Morocco. He illustrated numerous works and left a significant pictorial oeuvre on Morocco, the Alps, and Provence.
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Théophile-Jean Delaye was born in 1896 in the Drôme department. He joined the Chasseurs Alpins at the start of the First World War and finished the war as a lieutenant after training at Saint-Cyr. In 1922, he was posted to North Africa, first to Tunisia and then to Morocco in 1924. He became head of the Topographical Section of the Geographical Service of Morocco in 1932 and remained in the country until 1960, where he was recognized for his first geographical maps and the pioneering use of aerial photography.
Between the 1930s and 1940s, Delaye collaborated with Éditions Arthaud to illustrate works on Morocco and the Alps in the collectionThe Beautiful Countries. After the Second World War, he retired to Rabat and contributed to the tourist development of Morocco, participating in the creation of the Toubkal Natural Park, producing numerous tourist maps and chairing the Alpine Club of Morocco. He was also editor-in-chief of theMoroccan Geography Review.
Returning to France in 1960, Delaye settled in Saint-Donat in the Drôme region and participated in the creation of the Jean-Sébastien Bach Festival. He died in 1970. His work, combining scientific rigor and artistic sensitivity, is celebrated through exhibitions such asFrom map to landscape, Théophile-Jean Delaye in Moroccoin Marrakech andA 20th century surveyorat the Valence Museum. The Association Les Amis de Théophile-Jean Delaye works to preserve and promote his legacy.
