View of Delft

View of Delft (Dutch: Gezicht op Delft) is an oil painting by Johannes Vermeer, painted ca. 1659–1661. The painting of the Dutch artist's hometown is among his best known,[1] painted at a time when cityscapes were rare. It is one of three known paintings of Delft by Vermeer, along with The Little Street and the lost painting House Standing in Delft,[2] and his only cityscape.[3] The use of pointillism in the work suggests that it postdates The Little Street, and the absence of bells in the tower of the New Church dates it to 1660–1661. Vermeer's View of Delft has been held in the Dutch Royal Cabinet of Paintings at the Mauritshuis in The Hague since its establishment in 1822.

Not to be confused with A View of Delft.
View of Delft
Dutch: Gezicht op Delft
ArtistJohannes Vermeer
Yearc. 1660-1661
MediumOil on canvas
MovementBaroque painting, Dutch Golden Age painting
Dimensions96.5 cm × 115.7 cm (38.0 in × 45.6 in)
LocationMauritshuis, The Hague
A photograph taken in 2019 from approximately the point where Vermeer painted the painting.

Description

The landscape was painted from an elevated position to the southeast of Delft, possibly the upper floor of the Mechelen tavern where the artist's studio was located, across the river Schie.[4] The artist is looking back to the city to the northwest, with the Schiedam Gate in the middle of the composition, and the Rotterdam Gate and its barbican to the right, all reflected in the water of the harbour. Behind the Schiedam Gate is the long red-roofed arsenal (the Armamentarium).

It is a morning scene, with the sun to the east (viewer's right) illuminating the Protestant Nieuwe Kerk ("New Church", right of centre). The Nieuwe Kerk was where Vermeer was baptized, and where his mother and elder sister were buried.[5]

To the left is the tower of the "De Papegaey" (Parrot) brewery (since demolished) and, to its left, the top of the tower of the Oude Kerk ("Old Church"). Unlike other paintings of Delft which feature a busy harbor, Vermeer only painted a few boats.[6] Six people are seen standing on the quayside. The top half of the painting is dominated by a cloudy sky, with a dark cloud suggesting a rain shower has just passed.

Although some art historians such as Norbert Schneider believe that Vermeer created this painting using an optical device—possibly a camera obscura,[7] or a telescope—to capture the detail, art historian Karl Schütz is vehement that "At no phase of the work on any of his paintings did Vermeer make use of a camera obscura."[8]

Time of Day

In 2020 Professor Donald Olson of Texas State University published research shedding new light on the date and time captured by the painting. Based on the shadows on the buildings in the piece, and re-examining the reading of the clock on the clock tower, Olson and his students were able to determine that the painting was likely completed in September 1659, and depicts the town at 8:00 in the morning.[9]

Political Interpretation

According to Norbert Schneider, Vermeer's illumination of the Nieuwe Kerk has a political meaning;[10] it shows his support (or his patron's support) for the House of Orange. At the time, the Nieuwe Kerk housed William of Orange's tomb, which was a popular tourist attraction for people who supported the House of Orange. From 1648 to 1650, William II of Orange and the States General argued over whether or not to reduce the country's military budget. Dutch society was split into two factions - those who supported the House of Orange, and those who supported the States General. After William II died and the States General assumed power, people who wanted to show support for the House of Orange commissioned the artwork of William of Orange's tomb.[11][12]

Painting materials

The technical analysis[13] shows that Vermeer used a limited choice of pigments for this painting: calcite, lead white, yellow ochre, natural ultramarine and madder lake are the main painting materials.[14] His painting technique, on the other hand, is very elaborate and meticulous.[15]

Legacy

The painting may have been bought by Pieter van Ruijven and inherited by his daughter Magdalena. It is known to have passed through the collection of her husband Jacob Dissius, who auctioned it on 16 May 1696. In the auction catalog the picture was No. 32 ("The town of Delft in perspective, seen from the south"); it was sold for 200 guilders.[10] In the eighteenth century it was owned by merchant Willem Philip Kops. After his death it passed on to his wife, who in turn after her death in 1820 passed it on to her daughter, Johanna Kops, who finally decided to auction it.[16] It was auctioned in 1822, and bought for 2,900 guilders for the new Dutch Royal Cabinet of Paintings established at the Mauritshuis.

Marcel Proust greatly admired Vermeer, and particularly this painting. The painting features in his novel In Search of Lost Time, in which the character Bergotte before dying had taken inspiration from Vermeer's technique: "That's how I ought to have written ... My last books are too dry, I ought to have ... made my language precious in itself, like this little patch of yellow wall ('petit pan de mur jaune')". On 1 May 1921, in a letter to his friend Jean-Louis Vaudoyer, Proust mentioned how he felt when he saw the work for the first time:

Ever since I saw the View of Delft in the museum in The Hague, I have known that I had seen the most beautiful painting in the world.[17][18]

In 2011, the painting was featured on gold and silver commemorative coins issued by the Royal Dutch Mint.[19]

See also

References
  1. Slatkes, Leonard J. (16 July 1981). Vermeer and his contemporaries. Abbeville Press. p. 40. ISBN 978-0-89659-195-0. Retrieved 18 June 2010.
  2. Montias, John Michael (1 January 1991). Vermeer and His Milieu: A Web of Social History. Princeton University Press. p. 200. ISBN 978-0-691-00289-7. Retrieved 18 June 2010.
  3. Schütz, Karl (2015). Vermeer: The Complete Works. TASCHEN. p. 71.
  4. Schütz, Karl (2015). Vermeer: The Complete Works. TASCHEN. p. 72.
  5. Schütz, Karl (2015). Vermeer: The Complete Works. TASCHEN. p. 17.
  6. Schütz, Karl (2015). Vermeer: The Complete Works. TASCHEN. p. 225.
  7. Schneider, Norbert (2004). Vermeer. Sämtliche Gemälde [Vermeer. Complete Works] (in German). Köln: TASCHEN. pp. 19, 22.
  8. Schütz, Karl (2015). Vermeer: The Complete Works. TASCHEN. p. 65.
  9. "'Celestial Sleuth' sheds new light on Vermeer's masterpiece, 'View of Delft'". July 2021.
  10. Schneider, Norbert (2004). Vermeer. Sämtliche Gemälde [Vermeer. Complete Works] (in German). Köln: TASCHEN. p. 19.
  11. Schneider, Norbert (2010). Jan Vermeer, 1632-1675 : veiled emotions. Taschen. ISBN 3-8365-1377-3. OCLC 495785386.
  12. Schütz, Karl (2015). Vermeer: The Complete Works. TASCHEN. pp. 18, 21–23.
  13. Kuhn, Hermann (1968). A Study of the Pigments and Grounds Used by Jan Vermeer. Reports and Studies in the History of Art. National Gallery of Art. pp. 154–175. Vol. 2.
  14. Johannes Vermeer, 'View of Delft', ColourLex
  15. Wheelock Jr., Arthur K.; Kaldenbach, C. J. (1982). Vermeer's 'View of Delft' and His Vision of Reality. Artibus et Historiae. pp. 9–35. Vol. 3, No. 6.
  16. Runia, Epco (2005). Peter van der Ploeg: Vermeer in the Mauritshuis. Zwolle: Waanders. p. 56.
  17. "Autographed letter from Marcel Proust to Jean-Louis Vaudoyer" (in French). Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  18. Townsend, Gabrielle (1 January 2008). Proust's Imaginary Museum. Peter Lang. p. 232. ISBN 9783039111244.
  19. Alexander, Michael (15 April 2011). "New Coins Pay Homage to Dutch Artwork and the Old Dutch Masters". Coin Update. Retrieved 27 December 2019.

Further reading
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