The Little Street

The Little Street

Artist	Johannes Vermeer
Year	1657–1658
Type	Oil on canvas
Dimensions	54.3 cm × 44 cm (21.4 in × 17 in)
Location	Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

The Little Street (Het Straatje) is a painting by the Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer, executed c. 1657–58. It is exhibited at the Rijksmuseum of Amsterdam, and signed on the left hand corner below the window "I V MEER".

Painting

The painting is made in oil on canvas, and it is a relatively small painting, of the size of 54.3cm × w 44cm. This the only known painting made by Johannes Vermeer outdoors and the only one that is correctly attributed to Vermeer.

The painting showing a quiet street, depicts a typical aspect of the life in a Dutch Golden Age village. This painting is considered to be an important work of the Dutch master.

Straight angles alternate with the triangle of the house and of the sky giving the composition a certain vitality. The walls, stones and brickwork are painted in a thick colour, that it makes them almost palpable.

Location

File:Delft Voldersgracht.jpg

Voldersgracht, where the artist has grown up in Delft

The exact location of the scene Vermeer painted has long been a topic of research and dispute, with studies arguing for the Voldersgracht, where the Vermeer Centre is located, or the Nieuwe Langendijk at the present-day numbers 22 to 26. Later archival research based on the city's quay dues register, which gives detailed measurements of all houses and passageways at the time along the canals of Delft, has resulted in the conclusion that the site is the Vlamingstraat, a street with a narrow canal, at the present-day numbers 40 and 42. The property on the right in the painting belonged to Vermeer’s aunt, Ariaentgen Claes van der Minne. She had a business selling tripe, and the passageway beside the house was known as the Penspoort , or Tripe Gate. Vermeer’s mother and sister also lived on the same canal, diagonally opposite.

See also

• Dutch Golden Age painting
• List of paintings by Johannes Vermeer