A dune landscape with a distant view of Haarlem

A Dune Landscape with a Distant View of Haarlem from 1652 shows Ruisdael painting from the sand dunes that bordered the coast west of Haarlem. These elevated vantage points allowed him to create the expansive panoramic views that became his most celebrated landscape type. Ruisdael executed these panoramic views from elevated dune vantage points west of Haarlem, giving the composition an almost topographic sweep under enormous skies. The bleaching fields were central to Haarlem's linen economy...

The dune foreground provides a textured platform from which the eye surveys the distant cityscape. Ruisdael's atmospheric perspective creates convincing depth from the sandy foreground to the distant church spires.