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This is the most famous cityscape of the Dutch Golden Age. The interplay of light and shade, the impressive cloudy sky and the subtle reflections in the water make this painting an absolute masterpiece.

We are looking at Delft from the south. There is hardly a breath of wind and the city has an air of tranquillity. Vermeer reflected this tranquillity in his composition, by making three horizontal strips: water, city and sky. He also painted the buildings a bit neater than they actually were.

Details

  • Title: View of Delft
  • Creator: Vermeer, Johannes
  • Date Created: c. 1660 - 1661
  • Physical Dimensions: h96.5 cm x w116.4 cm
  • Provenance: (?) Pieter Claesz van Ruijven, Delft, before 1674; (?) his widow, Maria de Knuijt, Delft, 1674-1681; (?) their daughter Magdalena van Ruijven, and Jacob Dissius, Delft, 1681-1682; Jacob Dissius (with his father Abraham Dissius, 1685-1694), Delft, 1682-1695; Dissius sale, Amsterdam, 16 May 1696, lot 31; Willem Philip Kops, Haarlem and Bloemendaal, before 1805; Cornelia Kops-de Wolf, Bloemendaal, 1805-1820; Anna Johanna Teding van Berkhout-Kops, Haarlem, 1820-1822; included in the S. J. Stinstra sale, Amsterdam, 22 May 1822, lot 112 (to J. de Vries for the Mauritshuis); purchased, 1822
  • Type: Painting
  • Medium: Oil on canvas

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