The Large Plane Trees (Road Menders at Saint-Rémy)

Painted in 1889 at Saint-Rémy, this canvas of workers repairing the road beneath towering plane trees is one of Van Gogh's most energetic and boldly composed late works. The task of breaking up and relaying the road surface gave Van Gogh a subject of physical labor in the landscape that echoed his earliest Nuenen pictures while being executed in his fully developed expressive idiom. The massive, ancient plane trees dominate the upper half of the canvas with their swirling, gesticulating branches, while the road workers below go about their methodical task — a contrast between grand natural forms and human industry.

The composition is anchored by the massive trunks of the plane trees, rendered in thick, spiraling strokes that convey both their physical scale and Van Gogh's sense of organic vitality. The road workers and broken road surface below are handled with shorter, more fragmented marks. The palette mixes the warm yellows of autumnal foliage with cooler greens and grays.