View of Houses in Delft, Known as ‘The Little Street’

Today we start our new monthly partnership, this time with a museum giant, the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. It means that in February you can count on a lot of Dutch Golden Age masterpieces shared on DailyArt app and on our social media (Facebook/Twitter/Instagram) and of course in our DailyArt Magazine.  : )  Today we start with ... a Vermeer! <3  I'm sure you're going to love it! 

This is an unusual painting in Vermeer’s oeuvre, and remarkable for its time as a portrait of ordinary houses. The composition is as exciting as it is balanced. The old walls with their bricks, whitewash, and cracks are almost tangible. The location is Vlamingstraat 40–42 in Delft (you can visit this place today!). Vermeer’s aunt, Ariaentgen Claes, lived with her children in the house at the right from around 1645 until her death in 1670.

Very little is known about Vermeer's life. He produced a total of fewer than 50 paintings, of which 34 have survived, and most of them present domestic interiors scenes of middle-class life. Until the second half of the 19th century, Vermeer's works were largely overlooked by art historians, but luckily that changed and his paintings are among the most renowned ones today. 

P.S. Don't miss our -40% sale on DailyArt paper calendars in our Shop!  : )

P.P.S. Vermeer painted mostly women at home, here are all of Vermeer’s desperate housewives! ;-)