View of Haarlem from the Dunes 1838 - 1903

Jan Hendrik Weissenbruch made this watercolor painting on paper, of Haarlem from the Dunes, sometime in the 19th century. Looking closely, you can see how the inherent properties of watercolor allow for soft, blended colors and subtle gradations. It’s a quick medium, ideal for capturing fleeting moments of light and atmosphere. Think about the way Weissenbruch layered washes of color to create depth and volume in the sky and landscape. You can imagine him working outdoors, directly observing the scene and rapidly translating it onto paper. The blurred shapes of windmills and buildings in the distance would have been important sites of industry, places of labor, and commerce. They give a glimpse of the economic activity happening in the Netherlands at the time, while remaining on the periphery. This work invites us to appreciate the artist’s sensitivity to material and process, and to recognize the cultural context embedded in what at first glance seems like a simple landscape.