Most Orientalist painters started their initiation to Africa in the Maghreb with such popular scenes in the cities. Madrassi found there other life realities far from the theories of the omnipotent masters of the official art. Close to the first World War, painters like Madrassi, Maxime Noiré, Charles Fourqueray, Jean-Louis Paguenaud did approach the desert, as Delpy, Marquet or Brenet after them. Lucien Madrassi did receive the AOF (French Oriental Africa) price in 1920 et did spend 9 months in Senegal and Mauritania. After having been in Saint-Louis and Dakar, he crossed Mauritania with 10 camels, 4 body-guards and a translator. He did there about 150 pastel portraits. His masters were the painters Collin and Gérôme, who led him to exhibit at the Salon of French artists. Portraitist & aquafortist, he participated in the illustration of works by Henri Béraud, Lamartine, Valery Larbaud or the Tharaud brothers, Montherlant & André Maurois. In 1930, he became a marine painter.