• The Constructor series is Léger's homage to the salt-of-the-earth working man, both as a class within French society and in the industrialized world generally, and as a more universal symbol of homo faber — man the maker and builder.
• The emphasis that Léger devoted to the configuration of the four workmen in this study resulted in this picture becoming the most strongly characterized of the large compositions in this series.
• At the upper left, one of the four construction workers perched on the girders of this building-in-progress is applying his muscular physique to the job. Two other men exchange greetings, and the fourth, perhaps a member of the architectural team that designed this structure, gazes dreamily away from the scene. This figure is thought to be Léger’s portrayal of himself as a young man.
•  

Madonna sells Fernand Leger painting for $7.2 million

A Fernand Léger painting owned by pop star Madonna sold for $7.2 million at a New York auction Tuesday. Madonna had put the painting up for sale to benefit her charitable group, the Ray of Light Foundation.

The sale, which was part of a larger Sotheby's auction of Impressionist and Modern art, exceeded expectations. The auction house had originally estimated that the work would go for between $5 million and $7 million.

"Trois Femmes à la Table Rouge" was created around 1921 and is a quasi-cubist depiction of three women sitting around a red table...

Sotheby's said Madonna acquired the painting in 1990 from the Helen and William Mazer Foundation. The New York Times reported last month that the pop star had paid $3.4 million for the painting at a Sotheby's sale.

The pop star said in a statement earlier this year that she will "donate all the proceeds [from the Léger sale] to support girls' educational projects in Afghanistan, Pakistan and other countries where female education is rare or nonexistent."