View of Delft

This is the most famous cityscape from the Golden Age. The interplay between light and shadow, the impressive cloudy sky and the subtle reflections on the water make this painting an absolute masterpiece. We see Delft from the south. It is almost windless, the city exudes tranquility. Vermeer also brought this tranquillity into his composition by creating three horizontal strips: water, city and sky. And by painting the buildings a little less messy than they really were.