Vermeer's name is forever linked with the Delft, the city where he was born in 1632, and where he lived and worked all his life. The Vermeer Center in his hometown of Delft is housed on the historic site of the former St. Lucas Guild where Vermeer was dean of the painters guild for many years.
Views of Delft:
Above views are of the Oude Kerk (Old Church) tower above the old city center of Delft. The year 1246 is the church's official founding date, but its history goes back even further. For hundreds of years before that date the inhabitants of the settlement along ‘de Delf’ held church services on the same spot. There was a wooden church on the site as early as 1050, but the sagging brick tower in the two views above was completed in 1325. Both Vermeer and van Leeuwenhoek (more about him later) are entombed in the Oude Kerk.
a guild house, 1627
(below) warehouse, 1692
The spire seen over the rooftops belongs to Delft's Nieuwe Kerk (New Church). Exactly one hundred years after construction began, the tower was finished on 6 September 1496.
Delft's canals are still very much in use.
Delft, as painted by resident Johannes Vermeer in 1661.
Delft Staadhuis (city hall) built in 1618, around the tower of an earlier staadhuis, dating from 1300.
The clock is a "recent" addition, installed in 1536.
canal-side shop doors
Businesses on the Delft Markt
"Girl With A Black Raincoat" (a.k.a. "Linnea in Delft") posed in a reconstruction of Vermeer's atelier.
The Oude Kerk in Delft is the burial place of Anthonie van Leeuwenhoek, inventor of the microscope. He was born and raised in Delft; in fact, van Leeuwenhoek's birth on 24 October 1632 is listed on the same page of the city register as another of Delft's famous sons, Johannes Vermeer.
Van Leeuwenhoek made more than 500 optical lenses to build at least 25 microscopes, of which only nine originals survive today. His technique for making lenses remained his secret until it was rediscovered in 1957.
Van Leeuwenhoek used his tiny microscopes to observe and describe the things he viewed; cell structures, muscle fibers, spermatozoa (the church gave him trouble on that), and what he called "little animals;" bacteria, protozoa and yeast. You might say he's the father of microbiology. You would be right.
In 1981 a British microscopist discovered Van Leeuwenhoek's original specimens among the collections of the Royal Society of London. They were declared to be of high quality and preserved well enough for updated studies.
Some snapshots of Delft:
We like "Girl With A Black Raincoat." The city of Delft looks like it hasn't changed much since Vermeer's day. It must be a lot of fun to explore the area. Have fun!
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