Construction Workers

Fernand Leger's Construction Workers is reminiscent of other artwork that seeks to emphasise the value of seemingly ordinary tasks.

This painting is also known as Les Constructeurs. Like many other artists throughout time, Leger has taken an everyday occurrence and invited viewers to look at it in a new way.

In his initial works Fernand Leger made an individual type of cubism. Over the years his personal style steadily changed yet a viewer may still readily identify Cubist elements in his work. The figures of construction workers who are portrayed in the painting show signs of this Cubist influence.

The composition's static, fantastic style is reminiscent of Poussin. Those who have seen other paintings completed by Leger may be of the opinion that Construction Workers is typical of Léger's post-war work, both in style and content.

Les constructeurs is more likely than not an allegory for the post-war remaking of France. It celebrates the working class.

In spite of the fact that Fernand Léger gained his notoriety for being a Cubist, his style changed extensively from decade to decade. Léger worked in an assortment of media including paint and theatre.

He was even known for his work with glass and books. He favoured essential hues and striking structure, such as that seen in the design of Les Constructeurs.

Metal braces of a colossal structure under development puncture a splendid Mediterranean blue sky. The artist takes each viewer upwards and outwards to unending possibilities. Laid out in strong dark and shaded in clear red and yellow which contrast sharply, the braces give the organisation shape and frame the ideas of Leger.

In the lower forefront a gathering of four resilient specialists, solid, strong and grained with the soil of their works, bring a substantial brace into position. Above them two workmates cooperate, resisting gravity as they climb about the supports like trapeze artists. This feature helps to draw the viewer's gaze further upwards and into the composition.

The instability of their position is emphasised by the two ropes dangling down on either side. This is without a doubt a high rise building. Leger may have been seeking to encourage his countrymen to rebuild, better than before the war.