Discover Vermeer's Delft

8. Beestenmarkt 26
/

Johannes Vermeer’s father, Reynier Jansz, was born in 1591 at the Beestenmarkt. Vermeer’s father lived from age 6 to 17 at De Drie Hamers (The Three Hammers) inn, also located on the Beestenmarkt. He studied in Amsterdam but returned afterwards to the Beestenmarkt in Delft with his wife. Johannes Vermeer’s sister, Geertruyt, was also born at the Beestenmarkt in 1620. Vermeer himself never spent any time here, but the rest of his family lived here for many years.

10. Paardenmarkt
/

On 12 October 1654, disaster struck in Delft: the ‘Delftse Donderslag’. Where the Paardenmarkt now stands today once stood the Kruithuis, the city’s powder magazine. The Kruithuis served as a vast warehouse for gunpowder. When the powder magazine exploded during the ‘Delftse Donderslag’, half the city ended up in ruins. A good friend of Johannes Vermeer, Carel Fabritius, lived in the Doelenstraat. Most of the people who lived in this street were amongst the dead, including Carel Fabritius.

Fabritius was one of Rembrandt’s apprentices between around 1641 and 1643. He moved to Delft in 1650, where he painted portraits, city views and his famous painting The Goldfinch. Vermeer got his inspiration in part from Fabritius’ paintings.

12. Doelenplein
/

If you were considered ‘prosperous’ in the seventeenth century, you were expected to become a member of the schutterij, the civic guard. Vermeer was a member. The Doelenplein was where ‘de Doelen’ stood. This was the building where the Delft civic guard met. In the Schuttersboek from 1674, Johannes Vermeer is listed as a member of the first squadron (small tactical cavalry unit) of the oranje vendel. Vermeer’s membership connected him with important people, such as collectors and potential customers.

We do not know when the painter joined the civic guard, but Johannes Vermeer used to meet as a member of the Delft civic guard at the spot where the Doelenplein is located today.