The Road Menders 

Curator: Looking at "The Road Menders," painted in oil, I'm struck immediately by the contrast of this incredibly tactile, almost sculptural surface with the quiet intensity simmering just beneath it. Editor: My first impression? Bustling, busy. You feel the heat rising off the road. It is more feverish than serene. It reminds me of his time in the south of France. Curator: Indeed. There’s a distinct shift from Van Gogh’s earlier Dutch works in the materiality. Notice the texture – the blocks of paint, laid down with such evident physical effort. They describe not just light and form, but the actual process of making, of physically wrestling with the world, or shall I say, the road? Editor: Right. This image of manual labor isn't separate from the artist’s labor. The workers laying the road become analogues of Van Gogh, almost romanticized, enacting this transformation of space, the shaping and organizing of it that reflects on the ordering of our own minds. It reflects the sheer back-breaking monotony and the rhythm of the strokes, but look closely and it makes you question what did road-making entail at the time? Where did these workers find themselves amidst broader social infrastructures? Curator: I think he feels deeply connected to them and yet aware of the painful paradox. Their hard work facilitates progress and change, maybe they also change lives. And the canvas here reflects this too! Every layer tells its story and contributes to this rich complexity. I feel an urge to step inside, feel the rough stone and the sun-baked air, and share a silent solidarity. There's magic to it. Editor: Precisely! It is in its unadulterated expression. As if all that mattered was laying paint on the canvas, moving material in front of him with conviction to tell their and his stories! The way the materials were deployed speak to a specific cultural moment and its influence on Van Gogh's vision. This view makes us think of landscape and labor history together and helps us see the human struggle in physical terms. Curator: So, in the end, maybe the truest road they're mending is the one that connects our hearts. The canvas has become a place where that human connection thrives in spite of its burdens. Editor: Yes. These workers are made real through Van Gogh’s process—the oil paints. He wasn't afraid to get his hands dirty while turning reality into pure visual language.