The Great Postal Route near Rejapolah

As a commission from the Dutch king, Payen painted the landscape of the Dutch East Indies. Here we see the Great Postal Route (Grote Postweg). The 1000-kilometer road between West and East Java was built in one year (1808). Governor-General Daendels earned much respect for this prestigious project, but it came at a cost: thousands of Indonesian workers died during its construction. Nothing of that is seen in this romanticized painting.

The Great Postal Route near Rejapolah

As a commission from the Dutch king, Payen painted the landscape of the Dutch East Indies. Here we see the Great Postal Route (Grote Postweg). The 1000-kilometer road between West and East Java was built in one year (1808). Governor-General Daendels earned much respect for this prestigious project, but it came at a cost: thousands of Indonesian workers died during its construction. Nothing of that is seen in this romanticized painting.