ArtistsNetwork.com 7MAURITSHUIS, THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDSWhether he was working with a visual aid or from direct observation, Vermeer took liberties with what he saw. As
noted in a paper by scholars Arthur K. Wheelock Jr. and C.J. Kaldenbach, Vermeer applied small dabs of light
painttoshadowedareas,anopticalphenomenonthatwouldn’thavebeencreatedbya cameraobscura.Healso
alteredthearchitecturaltopographytocreatea flatter,frieze-likearrangementofbuildingsonthewaterfront.TheskylineofDelft,essentiallyplacid,is
punctuatedbyspires.Sunlightpiercesthe
cloud cover intermittently in the center and
at right, illuminating a church with particular
intensity. Vermeer appears to have achieved
a granular texture in the architectural
stonework by mixing sand into his paint.Thecityshownherehadbeenrecentlyreconstructed.In1654,the
northeasternsectionofDelft—notseeninVermeer’spainting—was
leveled by the explosion of a gunpowder store. Hundreds of people
were killed, including Carel Fabritius, a brilliant young painter who
had studied with Rembrandt, who may have influenced Vermeer.
Fabritius’ studio and much of his work were destroyed in the blast.
We know as little about him as we do Vermeer.