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| View of Haarlem with Bleaching Grounds - Jacob van Ruisdael 1665 |
In 1670, the linen bleaching process was a slow, multi-step photochemical method. Centered in places like Haarlem in the Dutch Republic, it required weeks of washing, boiling in alkaline lye, soaking in massive amounts of sour buttermilk, and prolonged exposure to sunlight on open grass fields (bleachfields).
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The success of the linen-bleaching industry in Haarlem had reached its climax at the time that Ruisdael painted this work. There were other linen-bleaching centers in the Netherlands; however, none of these locations were endowed with the perfect mixture of natural resources that Haarlem had. During the seventeenth century, linen bleached in Haarlem was highly sought after and quite expensive; this was the cause of the economic prosperity in Haarlem and the wealth of Haarlem linen merchants. All linen bleached in Haarlem received the name toiles de Hollande, or "Haarlemmer Bleek," which means Haarlem bleach. Regardless of where the linen was woven, if it was bleached in Haarlem it was called toiles de Hollande.
I thought for sure 'wrapped in white linen' is a line in the song Lucky Man by Emerson, Lake & Palmer, but it's not. The line is from The Streets of Laredo by a host or artists.
