Vermeer back on the Hooikade
On Delft's Hooikade, Delft master painter Johannes Vermeer painted his 'View of Delft', the most famous Dutch cityscape of the 17th century. With a waterfront reproduction, an information panel and story banks, Delft Marketing and the Vermeer Centrum Delft are bringing the famous Delft artist back to the Hooikade. Visitors can also use an innovative viewer to travel back in time and see what Johannes Vermeer saw when he was working on his painting.
The initiative to refurbish the Hooikade is in line with the wish of many organisations in Delft to give Johannes Vermeer a permanent place in Delft’s visitor marketing following the successful Vermeer theme year in 2023.
Vermeer’s Delft
“Until recently, the Hooikade was quite a mess, with unsightly signs, rubbish bins and graffiti,” says Michiel van der Schaaf of Delft Marketing. “Not only was this a nuisance for local residents, but it also did not do justice to Delft’s image. Certainly following last year’s major Vermeer exhibition at the Rijksmuseum, our city is attracting noticeably more visitors who come to Delft to discover where Vermeer lived, worked and spent his entire life. The Hooikade is one of the favourite spots, partly because it looks almost exactly the same as it did when Vermeer was alive. After the council had previously moved the rubbish bins, we took the initiative, together with the Vermeer Centrum Delft , to spruce up this special historic spot before the peak tourist season.”
Seeing through the eyes of the master
“In the new format, everything now comes together beautifully,” adds Herman Weyers, director of the Vermeer Centrum Delft . “For example, a reproduction of *View of Delft by the Water’s Edge* shows the view Vermeer had when he painted his famous work, whilst an information panel and three storytelling benches provide further insight into the era in which Vermeer lived.”
The standing viewer on the quay, which takes you back in time, is spectacular. “Thanks to a wonderful collaboration with historians from Erfgoed Delft and the Verborgen Stad Foundation, you can look around you using the latest technology. And you see exactly what Johannes Vermeer saw in his day. Through the eyes of the master painter, you can see, amongst other things, the inn where his easel probably stood, the hustle and bustle in the harbour and the River Schie leading towards Delftshaven.”
More about Vermeer's Delft can be seen on the website vermeer.indelft.nl.
