The Little Street, painting by Johannes Vermeer
The Little Street is a small oil painting by Johannes Vermeer from around 1658 showing a row of modest houses with weathered facades in Delft. The scene includes details such as cracks in walls, peeling paint, and people engaged in everyday tasks like sewing and playing.
The painting was created around 1658 by Vermeer, who spent his entire life in Delft and focused on scenes of everyday life. The house on the right belonged to Vermeer's aunt Ariaentgen Claes, who lived there with her children from around 1645 until her death in 1670.
The street depicted shows everyday life in a working-class neighborhood where residents carried out domestic tasks and simple activities. The scene captures how ordinary people spent their days in this quiet corner of Delft.
The painting is relatively small and invites close viewing so you can see all the details clearly. Visiting is straightforward as the work is housed in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam where it is displayed in a special gallery space.
The exact location of the street in Delft was only identified in 2015 through archival research and is located on Vlamingstraat where buildings from that era still stand today. The narrow passageway next to the house on the right was called Penspoort or Tripe Gate and was connected to Vermeer's family.
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