Aftermath Blue

My painting “Aftermath Blue” (a translation from the French title: "To Blue Tomorrows") which I might just as well have called "At the Blue Hour," draws upon themes and imagery from Romantic poetry—those artists who sought so passionately to probe the mysteries of nature and existence itself.

This artwork found its first breath in the opening lines of Victor Hugo’s poem "Tomorrow, at Dawn," from his collection Contemplations (1856):

"Tomorrow, at dawn, at the hour when the countryside whitens,
I shall set out. Do you see, I know that you await me.
I shall go through the forest, I shall go across the mountain.
I cannot remain far from you any longer."

The composition, suffused with soft, subtle shades—predominantly hues of blue—evokes an atmosphere of contemplation (a nod to Hugo's eponymous collection), serene and introspective. The organic forms suggest the perpetual motion of the seasons, the endless cycles of life and death that shape the natural world. Each season’s end marks the birth of another—a renewal brimming with hope, where everything is once more possible: a "blue hour."

The term "you" in Hugo’s poem, rather than a beloved figure in my painting, represents life itself:

Tomorrow, at dawn, I will depart
Toward gentle blue tomorrows,
Without fear or remorse, my heart rejoices,
Carried by hope to find again
Pure happiness at every moment.
Tomorrow, at dawn, I will depart...
Serene, for life awaits me!

Thus, my painting invites viewers to lose themselves in the beauty of the blue hour, to be carried away by the emotions and sensations it stirs, and to embrace life in all its richness and variety, so that one may truly live for blue tomorrows...