Inspired by poets, draughtsmen and printmakers, painters also discovered Haarlem and its beautiful surroundings as rewarding subjects for their work. Jacob van Ruisdael and Gerrit Berckheyde both repeatedly pictured the city – the former with his ‘Haerlempjes’, where heavy cloudy skies dominate the landscape and the unmistakable St Bavo’s Church stands on the horizon. Berckheyde is known for his atmospheric cityscapes: the Grote Markt, with St Bavo’s as the focal point, the Weigh House on the River Spaarne and the city gates.
Views of Haarlem takes us on a stroll from outside the city to inside the walls: from Lake Haarlemmermeer and the edge of the dunes, via the Spaarne and the city gates into the city, arriving in the Grote Markt.
Its authors, Norbert Middelkoop and Alexander de Bruin, are curators at the Frans Hals Museum and the Noord-Hollands Archief.
