View of Houses in Delft, Known as ‘The Little Street’, Johannes Vermeer, c. 1658
oil on canvas, h 54.3cm × w 44cm × d 9cm More details
This is an unusual painting in Vermeer’s oeuvre, and remarkable for its time as a portrait of ordinary houses. The composition is as exciting as it is balanced. The old walls with their bricks, whitewash, and cracks are almost tangible. The location is Vlamingstraat 40–42 in Delft. Vermeer’s aunt Ariaentgen Claes lived in the house at the right, with her children, from around 1645 until her death in 1670.
