Landscape with a View Toward Haarlem (The Goldweigher's Field)

Landscape with a View Toward Haarlem (The Goldweigher's Field), executed by Rembrandt van Rijn in 1651, represents one of the artist's most expansive and celebrated explorations of the Dutch countryside. Created using the complex and demanding techniques of etching and drypoint on laid paper, this impression is specifically a rare counterproof-a reversed impression pulled from a freshly printed sheet to check the plate’s condition or to study the composition before definitive final editions were produced.

The print captures the vast, flat expanse of the Netherlands, dominated by a prominent, centrally positioned building thought to be the estate of the wealthy collector Christoffel Thijsz. The colloquial title, derived from Thijsz’s profession as a gold weigher, ties the artistic output directly to the prosperous mercantile culture of the time. This work exemplifies Rijn’s mature approach to landscape art, where naturalistic observation merges with dramatic atmospheric effects. The artist utilizes the drypoint technique to achieve rich, velvety blacks and heavily textured shadows in the foreground, creating a powerful contrast with the fine etched lines used for distant details, such as the church spires of Haarlem faintly visible on the horizon.

Dating from the period 1651 to 1700, this etching confirms the artist’s status as a preeminent printmaker within Dutch culture. Rijn transformed the landscape genre with his emotive handling of tone and scale, creating a sense of deep recession and profound silence. While widely recognized for his portraits and biblical scenes, the artist produced a small but intensely influential body of landscape prints. This exceptional impression resides in the collection of the National Gallery of Art. As a major work from the Golden Age, this print offers invaluable insight into the graphic genius of the master and, like many classic prints, is available today for study via public domain resources.