Haerlempjes

Haerlempjes refer to a specific genre of landscape painting that includes a view of Haarlem (formerly spelled Haerlem). It is used most often to refer to Jacob van Ruisdael's panoramic views of the city, but the term is derived from mentions in Haarlem archives as a type of painting included in household inventories. The diminutive suffix "pje" would denote a small, cabinet-sized painting, but even the largest landscapes may be referred to as Haerlempjes today.

In his biography of Albert van Ouwater, Karel van Mander claimed that It is said from the mouths of the oldest painters, that landscape painting originated in Haarlem. Van Mander was writing in 1604 for his Haarlem-sponsored Schilder-boeck, and his was one of many initiatives to rebuild the city and glorify its history. After his book was published, the city attracted several landscape painters in the 1620s, including Esaias van de Velde, Jan van Goyen and the Ruisdael brothers Salomon and Isaack.

Haarlem is a bustling city today that makes up part of the Randstad area of the Netherlands, so it helps when looking at these old paintings to orient oneself according to old maps.

Map of Haarlem after the siege in 1578, showing the damage from fire

Map from 1628

Map from 1652

Map from 1698

Hobbyists love to look at older Haarlem cityscapes and pick out features such as steeples and boats. For paintings traditionally called Haerlempjes, such features have been proven to be based more on historical accuracy rather than artist fantasy. Though fantasy cityscapes were popular in the Netherlands throughout the 17th-century, these seem to be more often pastiches of southern harbours or italianate landscapes, rather than places that artists had conceivably visited. Today, for example, it is assumed that Jacob van Ruisdael worked in Bentheim because he painted many accurate views of the castle there. However, he often painted such castle views situated in a fantasy landscape on a mountain top, though the castle is in fact situated in low rolling countryside. In Haarlem, though he painted many dunescapes of the Kennemerland area, he never turned those dunes into mountains.

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Wikipedia