Aube was among Zao's first paintings on a truly monumental scale. Its title suggests dawn while refusing a specific horizon. Pale light opens through blue-grey atmosphere as dense black and rust-colored structures accumulate across the lower field.
The painting was completed before Zao's first trip to the United States, so its scale cannot simply be explained as a response to Abstract Expressionism. It shows that he was already searching for a painting large enough to surround the viewer and make space itself the subject.
