Art is the Solution

View of Delft Source: The Mauritshuis  Today, I want to talk about the work of my favorite Dutch painter, Johannes Vermeer. Although Vermeer is probably best known for his painting Girl with the Pearl Earring , one of his most interesting pieces is — in my opinion — View of Delft . View of Delft (the Dutch city where Vermeer lived) is a cityscape painted during a time in which cityscapes were not the norm. What the artist chooses to depict in this painting is as interesting as what he does not depict. Vermeer’s image of Delft is stark, orderly, and clean. Boats are visible in the middle ground, dotted with industrious workers. Neatly dressed men and women stand speaking together in the foreground. The scene is capped with great expanses of cloudy sky. The overall impression is one of serenity. Although all of Vermeer’s paintings are meticulously detailed and nearly photorealistic in their execution, View of Delft is unrealistic in its subject matter. Here, Delft is the idea...