Walking with Vermeer TUD

Walking with Vermeer. Virtual reality of Delft around 1650-1800.

Four digital movies based upon historical images of Delft Kolk Harbour, south side of Delft.

These images have been pulled into 3D with software and connected to each other. In the year 2000 this was a unique and state of the art production in the infancy of VR, Virtual Reality.

 

Project development: Drs. Kees Kaldenbach

Images collected and electronically captured by the Delft University of Technology, department of Industrial Engineering. In the year 2000 the name of this department was TUD-IO. I thank the generosity of this institution.
Image processing and modelling: Petrik de Heus
Animation and additional modelling:  Aldo Hoeben / fieldofview.com
All movies are © 2000-2001, Drs. Kees Kaldenbach, Amsterdam.

My wish (year 2021)  is that an audio specialist will add natural sounds: The cries of seagulls, church bells, faraway voices, a bit of music free of copyright. Who can assist?

 

Red Route: A walk by Rotterdam and Schiedam Gates in Delft

Sources of images:

The gates depicted in Vermeer’s 1660-1661 painting “View of Delft” have been drawn and engraved many times. This movie is based upon several historical images.

Pen and wash drawings of the Rotterdam Gate by Josua de Grave (c.1645-c.1712), in Album Rademaker, fol. 53 (left hand side, 90 x 149 mm.) and fol. 55 (right hand side, 92 x 154 mm.). Each is inscribed on the upper right “tot Delft de 7/28 1695“.

Pen and wash drawing (179 x 243 mm.) of the Rotterdam Gate by Jan van Kessel (1641-1680). Original drawing in De Grez coll., Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Brussels. Inscribed on the lower right “J. Kessel“. Inscribed on top, in another handwriting, the erroneous text “groote Houtpoort tot haarlem 1560“.

Engraving (176×266 mm.) by publisher Pieter Smith of the Armamentarium. This was one of the many views which could be placed on a wall chart and combined with the Kaart Figuratief bird’s eye view map of Delft.

This image combines two pen and wash drawings. On the left are the Rotterdam and Schiedam Gates (90 x150 mm.) by Josua de Grave (c.1645-c.1712), in Album Rademaker, fol. 51v, inscribed on the upper right “tot Delft de Rotterdamse Poort 7/7 1695“. To the right we see a sepia drawing (184 x 296 mm.) of the large Schiedam and the small Kethel gates by Balthasar Joosz (1772-1834). Inscribed on the bottom “De Ketel poort te Delft van binnen te zien 1828“.

All images were scanned at the Image and Sound department of the Municipal Archives in Delft, except the Rotterdam Gate image which was scanned from a high quality photograph provided by the Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Brussels.

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Blue Route: Looking Towards Vermeer’s Viewpoint

Panorama showing Vermeer’s viewpoint, which must have once been located at the site of the large house visible at the corner. Engraving (153 x 191 mm.) entitled “Gesigt van de Schie, voor de Stadt Delft“, by Pieter Schenk (1731-1797) from the book “Alle voornaamste Gesigten van Delft“, 1736.

Engraving scanned at the Image and Sound department of the Municipal Archives, Delft.

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Yellow route: ‘View of Delft’ by a youthful Van Liender

View of the Schiedam and Rotterdam Gates (244 x 399 mm.), watercolour drawing by Paul van Liender (1731-1797). Dated 1752 or 1755.

The Delft Archive owns a high quality reproduction; the whereabouts of the original is unknown. Scanned at the Image and Sound department of the Municipal Archives, Delft.

 

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Green route: A flight over Water Towards Schiedam Gate

View of the Delft harbour and the Schiedam gate (160 x 208 mm.), by Isaac van Haastert (1753-1834). Pencil and wash, inscribed on the bottom “Gesigt van de Ketel en Rotterdamsche poorten der Stadt Delft“.

Image scanned at the Image and Sound department of the Municipal Archives, Delft.