Description
View of Delft is Johannes Vermeer’s only cityscape, painted around 1659–1661: across the calm harbour water of the river Schie lies the city of Delft, and above it a vast sky of heavy clouds fills more than half the canvas. The original, oil on canvas, is 96.5 cm high and 115.7 cm wide and hangs in the Mauritshuis in The Hague. Our painters make it to order in oil on canvas in seven landscape sizes from 120 x 98 to 246 x 197 cm, or in a size you name; before dispatch you get a photograph of the finished painting.
| Title: | View of Delft |
| Other titles: | Gezicht op Delft · Ansicht von Delft |
| Painter: | Johannes Vermeer (1632–1675) |
| Year painted: | c. 1659–1661 |
| Original size: | 96.5 cm x 115.7 cm (height x width) |
| Original technique: | Oil on canvas |
| Painting style: | Baroque, Dutch Golden Age |
| Located at: | Mauritshuis, The Hague (inv. 92) |
| Our reproduction: | Hand-painted oil on canvas, 7 sizes or made to measure |
View of Delft – Johannes Vermeer
What does View of Delft show?
We look at the city from the south-east, across the wide basin of the Kolk on the river Schie. The water is almost still, so façades, towers and roofs are reflected in it. In the lower left, on a sandy bank, two women stand talking, and a few more people are gathered by a moored barge.
On the right edge rises the medieval brick Rotterdam Gate, with two herring boats lying at anchor in front. In the middle stands the Schiedam Gate with its clock, and a bridge links the two gates. Behind them the spire of the Nieuwe Kerk catches the sun, while long red roofs run along the left.
More than half the canvas belongs to the sky and its heavy clouds. The city lies beneath it as a narrow band between water and air, and that is what makes the scene feel both wide and quiet.
What did Vermeer change in the view?
View of Delft is not a snapshot but a considered composition. Vermeer moved the spire of the Nieuwe Kerk closer to the centre so that it would stand out more. The painter had been baptised in that church.
On the barge in the lower left he painted his initials, VM. He watched the city from a raised viewpoint south-east of Delft. Whether he used a camera obscura to help him is still debated among specialists.
Why is the painting so admired?
Because it is the only cityscape Vermeer ever painted. He is known for quiet interiors lit by daylight from a window on the left; here, instead, a whole city lies under an open sky.
It is also one of only three known paintings he devoted to Delft. The second is The Little Street, and the third is lost. Only a few dozen paintings by Vermeer are known today, so each one carries real weight.
The Wikipedia article gathers further detail about the painting.
Where is the original View of Delft?
In The Hague, at the Mauritshuis, inventory number 92. It belongs to the Royal Cabinet of Paintings of the Netherlands and has hung there since the museum opened in 1822.
The same building holds Girl with a Pearl Earring, so one visit shows two very different sides of Vermeer: an open city, and a single girl against a dark ground.
View of Delft or another Vermeer?
This one is for people who love space, water and sky: a living room, a dining room, an office or a hallway with a long wall. The scene is calm and free of drama, so it suits a bedroom too.
If an interior with a single figure appeals to you more, choose The Milkmaid. For a room full of symbols, with a map on the wall and a painter at work, there is The Art of Painting.
The Johannes Vermeer page lists the other famous Vermeer paintings our painters reproduce by hand.
How does our painter paint your View of Delft?
Every View of Delft is painted to order, layer by layer, in oil on canvas. First the painter divides the surface into sky, city and water and lays in the clouds, because they set the brightness of everything else.
Then come the façades: the brick of the Rotterdam Gate, the red roofs, the clock on the Schiedam Gate and the lit spire. The reflections in the water go in with softer strokes, and the people on the bank come last of all.
Technical analysis found natural ultramarine and lead white in the original. This Vermeer reproduction does not hide the brush: in the sky and on the water you can see the strokes up close, and from a few steps away they merge. A print stays flat, while an oil painting reproduction shifts in tone with the daylight in the room.
Which size for which wall?
The short answer: 120 x 98 cm above a chest of drawers or a small sofa, 135 x 109 and 150 x 123 cm above a standard sofa or a dining table, 170 x 136 and 190 x 153 cm for a wide living-room wall, and 220 x 175 and 246 x 197 cm for an entrance hall, a stairwell or a high room.
There are 7 landscape sizes (width x height): 120 x 98, 135 x 109, 150 x 123, 170 x 136, 190 x 153, 220 x 175 and 246 x 197 cm. Unlike most of Vermeer’s work, this original is not small; even our smallest size is 4.3 cm wider and 1.5 cm taller than it.
As a painting for the living room above a sofa about two metres long, 150 x 123 cm works well. Because the horizon is low and the sky high, hang it so that the band of the city sits roughly at eye level.
Can I order another size or a frame?
Yes. The original is close to 6 : 5 in proportion, which carries over to almost any landscape size without the Rotterdam Gate or the people on the bank slipping off the edge. Tell us the measurements you have in mind and you will get a price and a delivery date for your Delft.
Delft can leave us rolled, stretched on a stretcher bar or already framed. Our workshop in Slovenia does the stretching and framing for every canvas painting we send out. In the 3D app you compare frames and pick yours; the app does only that, and seeing the painting on your own wall is a different, separate service.
A light, slim frame leaves the sky room to breathe; darker wood brings out the brick of the city gates and the red roofs.
How and when does the painting arrive?
We start as soon as your order comes in, and within 15 to 45 working days Delft is ready to travel. Before dispatch we send you a photograph of the finished painting; anything you would like different, we correct. It travels customs-free within Slovenia and the rest of the EU, and our returns policy applies to every order.
If you want to give a painting but leave the size to the person receiving it, choose the wall art voucher.
Frequently asked questions
Which museum has the original?
The Mauritshuis in The Hague, where it is inventory number 92.
What is the building on the right edge?
The medieval brick Rotterdam Gate, with two herring boats at anchor in front of it.
Is it a print?
No. You receive a hand-painted copy that our painter makes to order in oil on canvas.
How big is the original?
It is 96.5 cm high and 115.7 cm wide; our smallest size, 120 x 98 cm, is slightly larger.
Which size goes above a sofa?
Above a sofa about two metres long, 150 x 123 cm; above a shorter one, 120 x 98 or 135 x 109 cm.
Can I have a size that is not on the list?
Yes. Tell us the width and height and we will send you a price and a delivery date.
How long do painting and delivery take?
It is ready to ship in 15 to 45 working days, and you see a photograph of it first.
Does it make a good gift?
Yes. The calm city by the water suits a living room, an office or a bedroom, and with a voucher the recipient picks the size.
- Subject: Delft across the calm water of the Schie, with the Rotterdam and Schiedam Gates under a huge sky of clouds.
- Original: c. 1659–1661, oil on canvas, 96.5 x 115.7 cm, Mauritshuis, The Hague.
- Ours: painted to order by hand in oil on canvas, 7 landscape sizes from 120 x 98 to 246 x 197 cm, or a size you choose.
- Worth knowing: Vermeer painted his initials, VM, on the barge in the lower left.
