Dries's work in the period 1943-1944 opened a highly original chapter in his aesthetic thinking. "In May 1943 I started work on a painting of the Liberation that I would later call "Paris, 25 août 1944"… the red outline is very sustained (heavy). The oranges and reds contrast with the dark blues, the transition is made of lilac tones and greens." At this time, like the fauve painters, Dries exalted colour to the utmost. "It's a very cerebral [work] of pure artistry." where sometimes, in his use of pure solid colours, in the red or black outlines, the artist was without doubt inspired by his memories of time spent working in the workshop of the master glassmaker Gambut. This is noticeable in "Le paysage dans la colline" of 1947. But this cerebral work, though undoubtedly necessary, is dangerous: "this cerebral work which dictates colour arrangements leads to decoration and abstraction. What is decorative is poor and artificial."