THE ARTWORK OF THE MONTH: MAI – “LA GRANDE TRAVERSÉE 2”
LA GRANDE TRAVERSÉE 2
alain rouschmeyer
Acrylic on canvas
2022
80 x 80 cm
There are footsteps that speak volumes. Silent walks that echo nonetheless. La Grande Traversée 2 captures the quiet yet determined momentum of those who move forward — together, yet each within their own story.
They walk barefoot on sand hardened by the sea, at an hour when the shadows stretch without a sound. There are bags, hats, sun-kissed shoulders. Anonymous figures, seen from behind — as often in my paintings: it’s less the face than the motion that matters to me. The movement of the body, and even more subtly, that of the group.
On the right, a human line drifts toward the horizon, as if slowly swallowed by the landscape. On the left, three closer figures — the present moment of the walk, almost tangible. Between them, a breath of complicity, of shared holidays, of open paths.
The Mont may be out there, blurred, barely visible. But it’s not the destination that matters: it’s the journey. What we carry with us, what we leave behind in the imprint of our feet. This painting holds the feeling of a quiet effort, of a slow conquest. And above all, a warm, saturated light — like a summer memory tucked into a travel journal.
La Grande Traversée 2 speaks of passage. Of the simple beauty of those who walk, together, toward something greater than themselves.
