Vermeer’s View of Delft travels to Madrid
The Mauritshuis has lent out its famous cityscape. The painting is not on view in The Hague on 15 October.
Visitors going to the Mauritshuis on 15 October for Johannes Vermeer’s View of Delft will not find it there. The painting is on view at the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza in Madrid from 9 October through 10 January 2027.
Vermeer painted the cityscape around 1660–1661 in oil on canvas. It carries inventory number 92 and measures 96.5 by 115.7 centimetres. The Mauritshuis acquired it in 1822.
Vermeer looked across the Kolk towards Delft from the southeast. The city wall, Schiedam Gate, Rotterdam Gate and tower of the Nieuwe Kerk shape the composition.
The catalogue explains how Vermeer built up the sunlight on the church tower with a thick layer of yellow paint. Sky is visible through the tower’s belfry openings: its bells were installed between May 1660 and late summer 1661. Such details connect his artistic choices with a more precise period in the city’s history.
The loan is part of an exchange. From 15 October through 17 January 2027, the Mauritshuis displays works from the Madrid museum’s collection, while 25 masterpieces from The Hague are shown in Madrid.
The Mauritshuis is at Plein 29. For visitors to the exhibition in The Hague, the museum lists opening hours of 1–6 p.m. on Monday and 10 a.m.–6 p.m. Tuesday to Sunday; an adult ticket costs €21. The cityscape itself can be seen in Madrid during the exchange.