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Vermeer's View of Delft and his Vision of Reality. |
Copyright
Dr. Arthur K. Wheelock Jr.,
C.J. Kaldenbach
Aside from topographical changes in light effects, Vermeer made a number of adjustments in the boats and reflections in the water that further enhances the strong horizontal orientation of the scene. Infra-red reflectography reveals that Vermeer made a fascinating alteration in the position of the herring boats on the far right of the composition. He originally painted both boats somewhat smaller; he enlarged the stern of the foreground boat and the bow of the second. The most significant change is with the fore ground boat which once ended just before the front face of the Rotterdam Gate. The original reflection in the water of this first idea can be seen in the reflectogram. By extending the rear of this boat backwards and to the left, Vermeer minimized its recession into space as he had by altering the perspective of the Rotterdam Gate.
| A further important change in the composition, visible in x-rays and infra-red reflectography, was the adjustment of the reflection of the twin towers of the Rotterdam Gate. The original reflections denoted the architectural forms of the building on the far shore quite precisely. In this final design, however, Vermeer extended them downward so that they intersect with the bottom edge of the picture. The effect of the combined reflection of the Rotterdam Gate towers and the Schiedam Gate in the center (both of which reach the foreground shore) is to bind the city profile and foreground elements in a subtle yet essential manner. The reflections, which function almost as shadows, give added weight and solemnity to the mass of buildings along the far shore. Moreover, beyond anchoring these structures in the foreground, the exaggerated reflections of specific portions of the city profile create accents that establish a secondary visual pattern of horizontals, verticals and diagonals across the scene. |  |
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copyright. Konink Kabinet van Schilderijen Mauritshuis
inv.no.92 |
Such modifications
in topography and intentional compositional adjustments thus force
us to reconsider the assumptions that we bring to this work. If
the view of Delft does indeed vary slightly from topographical
exactitude, how are we to approach the question of Vermeerﾕs use
of the camera obscura? Although the assumption has often been
made that Vermeer used the camera obscura to create a topographically
accurate image, such clearly was not the case. In a boarder sense,
however, he might have viewed the image produced by the camera
obscura as a means of enhancing the illusion of reality in his
painting.
As has been noted in the literature, Vermeer could have
seen such a view of Delft from the second story of a house situated
across the harbor from the Schiedam and Rotterdam gates. Such
a house can actually be seen on old maps, and recent scientific
projections of his viewpoint have reinforced that hypothesis.
Of course, no documentary evidence indicates whether or not Vermeer
actually set up a camera obscura in this location or even he painted
his scene there. Nevertheless, the hypothesis that Vermeer used
the camera obscura at some stage in his working process gains
validity because of the distinctive effects of light, color, atmosphere
and diffusion of highlights along the far shore.
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Camera obscura were widely acclaimed in the 17th century the naturalistic landscape effects that they created. A measure of their effectiveness comes from the fact that they present a living image, where movements of clouds, water and birds are visible; the apparent realism, however, is also delivered from the vividness of the image. Colors accents and contrasts of light and dark are intensified and apparently exaggerated through the use of a camera obscura, thus |
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copyright. Konink Kabinet van Schilderijen Mauritshuis
inv.no.92 |
Along the far shore of the Schie, particularly on the boat,
numerous diffused highlights appear that compare closely to those
seen in unfocused images of a camera obscura . Vermeer,
from almost the beginning of his career,articulated his images
with small dabs or globules of paint to enhance textural effects.
The diffused highlights on the boat, however, are different in
View of Delft than they are in his other works from the
late 1650ﾕs and early 1660ﾕs, with the possible exception of The
Milkmaid in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. Not only are they
more diffuse than in other paintings, they are unrelated to texture.
Their purpose is to suggest flickering reflections off the water.
Such reflections would appear as diffuse circular highlights in
an unfocused image of a camera obscura, and would appear only
in sunlight, not in the shadows as they are here painted. Thus,
even when it seems that he used such a device, Vermeer modified
and adjusted its image for compositional reasons.
Vermeer apparently responded to such visual stimulate from a camera obscura and recognized that the optical effects reinforced both the naturalistic and expressive characteristics he was seeking. His realism is thus of a most profound type. While he has sought to translate the rich varieties of shape, materials and textures of the physical world through his painting techniques, he has also given these objects an aura and significance beyond the limited confines of time and place.
The View of Delft
is unique in Vermeerﾕs oeuvre. Although The Little Street
in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam also depicts an exterior scene
of buildings, it is a far more intimate work than this large and
imposing picture. The View of Delft is also, as far as
is known, the earliest view of the city from this vantage point.
We must address the issue, then, of how it came to be painted.
We have no record of a commission and, indeed, no mention of the
paintingﾕs existence prior to 1696, the year that it appeared
in an Amsterdam sale as ﾒDe Stad Delft in perspectief, te sien
van de Zuyd-zy, door J. vander Meer van Delftﾓ. It is likely that
the painting, as well as most of the twenty others by Vermeer
that appeared in this sale belonged to the bookprinter Jacob Abrahams.
Dissius. An 1682 inventory of his collection contained no fewer
than nineteen paintings by Vermeer, although, unfortunately, none
were specifically identified. Whether or not Dissius purchased
these directly from Vermeer during his lifetime or from Vermeerﾕs
widow or mother-in-law sometime after his death in1675 is unknown.
In any event, no evidence suggests that the painting was executed
on commission from the St. Lukeﾕs Guild or any other civic body.
Lacking specific evidence of commission and with the distinct
possibility that the View of Delft remained in Vermeerﾕs possession
throughout his life, one hesitates to speculate on Vermeerﾕs motivation
for paintings this work; nevertheless, certain observations may
be offered. In the broadest sense, Vermeer chose a format that
was familiar through cartographic traditions---
a profile view of a city was often found accompanying its larger
ground plan. Such a profile is found, for example, on the large
Figurative Map of Delft . These profile views of cities,
however, generally emphasized the cityﾕs most distinctive landmarks.
In the case of Delft, that vantage point is from the west where
the towers of both the Oude Kerk and Nieuwe Kerk dominate the
cityﾕs profile. Vermeerﾕs view in this respect is uncharacteristic
of topographic tradition since it does not sufficiently highlight
these distinctive monuments of the city. In his painting the tower
of the Oude Kerk can barely be discerned in the distant left center
of the composition.
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Foundation