View of Delft

Johannes Vermeer painted View of Delft around 1660–1661, one of only two surviving cityscapes from his hand. Seen from across the river Schie, the city’s walls, gates, and the towers of the Old and New Churches rise above the calm water under a bank of luminous cloud. The play of light across the bricks and the precise, almost photographic rendering of the architecture have made it the most admired town view of the Dutch Golden Age. Marcel Proust called it the most beautiful painting in the world.