View of Delft

It's Sunday, so it is time for a masterpiece from our partnership with the Mauritshuis! Enjoy this calm and classic landscape.  :)

This is the most famous cityscape of the Dutch 17th century. The interplay of light and shade, the impressive cloudy sky, and the subtle reflections in the water make this painting an absolute masterpiece.

Vermeer depicted the city from the southeast, with the Kolk in the foreground, a triangular harbor at the southern limit of the city. Nothing appears to be moving; all is serenity. The boats in the water are all moored, their sails lowered. There is virtually no wind; a soft breeze ruffles the reflecting water in places. The trees are full of leaves; the season must be late spring or summer, and it is morning since the sun is in the east. Human life plays a subordinate role in the scene. Two groups of people are talking in the foreground, while a few figures are walking about the quayside in front of Schiedam Gate, almost too small to be discernible.

Vermeer was highly inventive in his painting View of Delft. In every element he depicted, he looked for the best way of rendering its structure. In the bright yellow roof on the right, he has suggested the roughness of the surface by using coarse grains of the pigment white lead in the underpainting. He creates the impression that the scene is shimmering in the bright sunlight. But his most extreme innovation, perhaps, are the many tiny dots of paint on the hull of the boat near Rotterdam Gate. Viewed from a distance, they suggest the reflection of the sparkling water.

This is such a classic masterpiece! If you love classics, you should check out our Great Masterpieces 50 Postcards Set (now back in stock in the DailyArt Shop).  :) 

P.S. Johannes Vermeer was quite an enigmatic figure and still little is known about his life. Here are 5 things you need to know about Vermeer! And if you want to explore today's masterpiece a bit more, read our Masterpiece Story: View of Delft.