Celebrating Vermeer’s Little Street With Cultural Institute

The Dutch have always known that Delft is a special city. Now a recent discovery by Frans Grijzenhout, Professor of Art History at the University of Amsterdam, using a unique pairing of seventeenth century records and Google Street View technology, has uncovered a new treasure on its streets. A small door, tucked between numbers 40 and 42 on Vlamingstraat, which marks the alleyway depicted in Johannes Vermeer’s world-famous Little Street.
"In my endeavours to pinpoint the exact location of Vermeer's Little Street, I have been an avid user of Google Maps, particularly in studying the rythmic articulation of the canal walls along Vlamingstraat,” said Professor Grijzenhout this week.

The discovery of the whereabouts of Vermeer’s Little Street is the subject of an exhibition running from 19 November 2015 to 13 March 2016 in the Rijksmuseum. It will then transfer to Museum Prinsenhof Delft.

To commemorate this discovery--including the small part that Google Street View technology has played in it--we’re marking 19 November 2015 Vermeer Day on the Google Cultural Institute. Today our homepage will feature 17 works of art by the Dutch master, including Little Street, and the site will feature a special look at the present day Little Street in Delft. The aim of the Google Cultural Institute is twofold, helping users to discover artworks in new ways and helping the cultural sector to make the most of digital opportunities. 

We’re thrilled to celebrate the Delft’s own Vermeer with our longtime partners at the Rijksmuseum, and to mark the discovery of this little street in that’s been culturally significant--if unknown--since the 17th century.

Posted by Meghan Casserly, Communications Manager Google Netherlands