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London Exhibit Spotlights Victor Hugo's Lesser-known Talent -- Drawing

A drawing by French author Victor Hugo, entitled "Mushroom" (L) is pictured during a photocall at the Royal Academy of Arts (RA) in London on March 18, 2025. (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP)
A drawing by French author Victor Hugo, entitled "Mushroom" (L) is pictured during a photocall at the Royal Academy of Arts (RA) in London on March 18, 2025. (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP)
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London Exhibit Spotlights Victor Hugo's Lesser-known Talent -- Drawing

A drawing by French author Victor Hugo, entitled "Mushroom" (L) is pictured during a photocall at the Royal Academy of Arts (RA) in London on March 18, 2025. (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP)
A drawing by French author Victor Hugo, entitled "Mushroom" (L) is pictured during a photocall at the Royal Academy of Arts (RA) in London on March 18, 2025. (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP)

French writer Victor Hugo is famous for penning "The Hunchback of Notre-Dame" and "Les Miserables", but less known is his work as an illustrator -- now the subject of a new exhibition in London.

"Astonishing Things: The Drawings of Victor Hugo", which opened at the Royal Academy of Arts on Friday, traces Hugo's passion for illustration, 140 years after his death.

The exhibition's notes say that while the Romantic author and politician came to be a leading public figure in France in the 19th century, "in private, his refuge was drawing".

"Hugo's ink and wash visions of imaginary castles, monsters and seascapes are as poetic as his writing," according to the Royal Academy of Arts.

"His works inspired Romantic and Symbolist poets, and many artists including the Surrealists. Vincent van Gogh compared them to 'astonishing things'."

For a long time, Hugo showed his drawings only to close friends, even though he ensured their posterity by donating them to France's national library.

The works, many made of ink washes, graphite pencil and charcoal, are "rarely on public display and were last seen in the UK over 50 years ago," the academy added.

The exhibition of about 70 drawings seeks to address the relationship between Hugo's artistic and literary work, AFP reported.

Most were made between 1850 and 1870, the period he was exiled to the island of Guernsey following a coup d'état in December 1851 by Napoleon III.

It was while in exile that Hugo completed some of his major works, including "Les Chatiments" (The Castigations) and "Les Miserables".

The exhibition tracks his progress from early caricatures and travel drawings to dramatic landscapes and his experiments with abstraction.

While his writings were deeply rooted in reality and tackled subjects such as social deprivation and the death penalty, certain drawings are more enigmatic, like "Mushroom" which depicts a giant anthropomorphic toadstool.

However the influence of his political beliefs can be seen in "Ecce Lex" (Behold the law), which shows a hanged man.

The London exhibition is scheduled to run until 29 June.

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Culture

China's LandSpace Hopes to Complete Rocket Recovery in Mid-2026

Zhuque-3 rocket by China’s private rocket firm LandSpace, takes off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, China, December 3, 2025, in this screengrab taken from handout drone footage provided by LandSpace. LandSpace/Handout via REUTERS
Zhuque-3 rocket by China’s private rocket firm LandSpace, takes off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, China, December 3, 2025, in this screengrab taken from handout drone footage provided by LandSpace. LandSpace/Handout via REUTERS
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China's LandSpace Hopes to Complete Rocket Recovery in Mid-2026

Zhuque-3 rocket by China’s private rocket firm LandSpace, takes off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, China, December 3, 2025, in this screengrab taken from handout drone footage provided by LandSpace. LandSpace/Handout via REUTERS
Zhuque-3 rocket by China’s private rocket firm LandSpace, takes off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, China, December 3, 2025, in this screengrab taken from handout drone footage provided by LandSpace. LandSpace/Handout via REUTERS

Chinese rocket developer LandSpace plans to successfully recover a reusable booster in mid-2026, a company executive said in an interview, underscoring the Beijing-based firm's ambition to become China's answer to SpaceX.

The ability to return, recover, and reuse a rocket's engine-packed first stage, or booster, after launch is crucial to reducing costs and making it easier for countries to send satellites into orbit, and to turn space exploration into a commercially viable business similar to civil aviation, Reuters reported.

Earlier this month, privately-owned LandSpace ‌became the first ‌Chinese entity to conduct a full reusable rocket ‌test, when ⁠Zhuque-3 ​blasted off ‌from a remote area in northwest China for its maiden flight, drawing comparisons to US aerospace giant SpaceX.

SECOND ATTEMPT PLANNED

While LandSpace failed to complete the crucial final step of landing and recovering the rocket's engine-packed booster, it hopes to clear this challenge in mid-2026 with a second test flight, Zhuque-3 deputy chief designer Dong Kai told Chinese podcast Tech Early Know in an interview published on Tuesday.

"If the second flight's recovery (stage) succeeds, we ⁠plan that on the fourth flight we will use a reused first stage to launch," Dong said.

So far, ‌the only company that has mastered reusable rocket technology is ‍SpaceX, founded by the world's richest ‍person Elon Musk. SpaceX's Falcon 9 launches around 150 times a year, or roughly ‍three times per week, with its booster reused dozens of times if necessary.

Musk said in October that LandSpace's Zhuque-3 design could allow it to beat the Falcon 9, but went on to state that the Chinese challenger's launch cadence would take more than five years to ​reach that of SpaceX's workhorse model, at which point the US firm would have transitioned to its heavier, new-generation model Starship and "doing over ⁠100 times the annual payload to orbit of Falcon".

INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERING

LandSpace's Dong said that, while the company was already building an engine for a future Starship-like model, he was not optimistic that in five years Falcon 9's work rate could be surpassed, noting that all rocket models in China combined this year totalled only around 100 launches.

"It's very difficult for a single company to reach that kind of frequency. It requires the support of an entire ecosystem," Dong said, adding that LandSpace had 10 launches planned next year for all its models.

Other executives have previously said that the financial cost of a high-frequency testing and launch regimen was crucial to SpaceX's success, and that LandSpace's only ‌hope of amassing enough funds to sustain a similar programme would be by tapping China's capital markets, pointing to plans for an initial public offering next year.

Culture

Jazan Festival 2026 Kicks Off Thursday with Grand Parade

his year’s festival offers an unprecedented experience that brings together the charm of the region’s unique geographic diversity - SPA
his year’s festival offers an unprecedented experience that brings together the charm of the region’s unique geographic diversity - SPA
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Jazan Festival 2026 Kicks Off Thursday with Grand Parade

his year’s festival offers an unprecedented experience that brings together the charm of the region’s unique geographic diversity - SPA
his year’s festival offers an unprecedented experience that brings together the charm of the region’s unique geographic diversity - SPA

The Jazan Festival 2026 will launch on Thursday in a carnival anticipated by thousands of visitors from within the region and beyond.

The festival will open with a grand celebratory parade starting at 3:45 p.m. along the Jazan city waterfront, signaling the start of an entertainment and cultural season that will extend for several months, according to SPA.

This year’s festival offers an unprecedented experience that brings together the charm of the region’s unique geographic diversity, from its towering green mountains and golden beaches to its picturesque islands, alongside the authenticity of its rich heritage, complemented by modern touches in entertainment programs designed to meet the aspirations of all age groups.

Performing arts inspired by local folklore will add an authentic dimension, while moving installations will flow in harmonious rhythm.

Completing the visual spectacle, integrated light and sound shows will create an enchanting atmosphere before the festivities conclude with a dazzling fireworks display lighting up the Jazan sky in vibrant colors.

Culture

UNESCO Chair in Translating Cultures Hosts Lectures on Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage

The program was presented as an advanced knowledge initiative that combined theoretical perspectives with practical application - SPA
The program was presented as an advanced knowledge initiative that combined theoretical perspectives with practical application - SPA
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UNESCO Chair in Translating Cultures Hosts Lectures on Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage

The program was presented as an advanced knowledge initiative that combined theoretical perspectives with practical application - SPA
The program was presented as an advanced knowledge initiative that combined theoretical perspectives with practical application - SPA

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Chair in Translating Cultures at the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies (KFCRIS), with support from the Literature, Publishing, and Translation Commission, organized a training course and a series of specialized lectures on the translation and safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage, SPA reported.

The program was presented as an advanced knowledge initiative that combined theoretical perspectives with practical application, opening space for in-depth discussion of the challenges of translating intangible heritage as a living, evolving form of culture closely tied to its cultural, social, and performative contexts.

The course and lectures adopted a comprehensive approach that views translation as a cultural tool for preserving oral memory and building bridges between local specificity and the global sphere.

This approach was reflected through applied models, field experiences, and contemporary conceptual frameworks.