De Kolk (Kolk Harbor), Delft

The Kolk Harbor, a triangular-shaped lock chamber on the Old Delft – the oldest canal in the city, is the place from which Johannes Vermeer painted his remarkable “View of Delft.”

Surprisingly, today the Kolk has retained its original form and dimensions very much intact, and it is quite possible to find a boat anchored at exactly the same point where Vermeer had pictured the large tow barge launched in 1655 for transportation to Rotterdam.

The actual spot from which it was painted – now known as Plein Delftzicht – back in Vermeer's day was an elevated position, possibly the upper floor of a house on the quayside across the river Schie. The artist was looking back to the city in the northwestern direction, with the Schiedam Gate found in the middle of the composition, and the Rotterdam Gate with barbican (long demolished) to the right – all reflected in the water of the harbor. Behind the Schiedam Gate is the long red-roofed arsenal (the Armamentarium).

The area of sunlit roofs of a row of houses seen in the picture, just to the left of the main tower, is presumably that on the Geer canal. To the right from the center, the sun illuminates the Protestant Nieuwe Kerk ("New Church"). To the left is "De Papegaey" (The Parrot) brewery (now demolished) and further left (above the two reddish triangular rooftops) is the top of the Oude Kerk ("Old Church"). Today, due to the increased height of the modern buildings in front, the spire of Oude Kerk is even less visible than in Vermeer's painting.