De Grote Postweg bij Rajapolah
Commissioned by the Dutch king, Payen painted the Grote Postweg, the main thoroughfare on Java. This thousand-kilometre-long road from West to East Java was built in one year (1808). Thousands of Indonesian workers died during its construction. The Grote Postweg afforded the Netherlands greater military control over Java. Ordinary Javanese citizens were not allowed to use the new route.