In the early 1950s, Léger worked on a series of big painted panels to decorate public buildings. His composition Builders is among the most significant artworks of this series. Léger explained his interest in the topic of construction in this way: “This idea came to me on the way to Chevreuse. I saw three transmission towers being constructed by the road. Many people were working upon them. I was astonished by the contrast between the workers, the metallic architecture, the clouds, and the sky. The people were so small, almost lost in this severe and unfriendly environment — this is what I wanted to show. I precisely emphasized the plastic meaning of human actions, the sky, the clouds, and the metal.” Léger simplifies his artistic solutions as much as possible. Contrasts of bright and active colors in combination with standardized forms of drawing resemble the techniques used in modern posters and monumental and decorative art. Léger achieves a special expressiveness with the clear composition and rhythm contrasts, which are accelerated in the vertical constructions and clouds and decelerated in the wide horizontal beams. In this painting, where the artist exaggerated rigidity of movement, the reality of the industrial world can be seen.