View of Haarlem from the Northwest, with the Bleaching Fields in the Foreground

This View of Haarlem from the Northwest, in the Rijksmuseum, is the finest of van Ruisdael's Haarlempjes—panoramic views of the city with the bleaching fields that were central to its linen industry. The vast sky, occupying roughly two-thirds of the canvas, transforms a flat Dutch panorama into a theater of atmospheric drama. These paintings celebrate the everyday Dutch landscape with an intensity that elevates topography to the level of sublime art, influencing Constable, the Impressionists, and countless later landscape painters.

The immense cloudscape is rendered with extraordinary variety and movement, from dark storm clouds to brilliant patches of sunlight that sweep across the bleaching fields below. Van Ruisdael's technique in the sky passages shows bold, dynamic brushwork that contrasts with the more precise rendering of the city skyline.