View of Delft
Johannes Vermeer·1661
Historical Context
Vermeer's View of Delft from around 1660-61 is one of only two cityscapes by the artist and has been regarded since the nineteenth century as one of the greatest landscape paintings in European art. Marcel Proust famously had his character Bergotte die while contemplating its "little patch of yellow wall." The painting captures Delft from across the Schie canal with an uncanny combination of topographical accuracy and atmospheric poetry. The precise rendering of reflections and the varied cloud effects suggest Vermeer may have used a camera obscura as an aid.
Technical Analysis
Vermeer achieves an extraordinary range of textures—from the rough sand in the foreground applied with actual granular paint to the smooth reflections in the water. The famous "pointillé" technique creates shimmering highlights on the sunlit buildings that anticipate Impressionist optical effects by two centuries.
