Johannes (Jan) Vermeer (1632-1675) left us a legacy of approximately 30-35 paintings. His output was small and his life far too short. We find so much to enjoy in his paintings but also, for tile enthusiasts, we can see tiles in actual use in the home.

Lacking firm information about most aspects of his life, conflicting and varying views can flourish. Vermeer and van Leeuwenhoek lived and died in Delft; van Leeuwenhoek was chosen by the City of Delft to be the Curator/Executor of Vermeer's estate after his death. There is speculation as to whether these two men knew each other. Dobell (see Bibliography) for one, says that they were good friends. This view is not universally held.

A sculptural representation of Vermeer's The Milkmaid on Phoenixstraat.

We are told that van Leeuwenhoek proved not to be particularly sympathetic to Vermeer's widow and mother-in-law in the settlement of Vermeer's tangled estate. Wheelock (2) tells us that he was. One reason for possible hostility could be that Van Leeuwenhoek was a Protestant and the Vermeer family were Catholics. They lived in the Catholic area next to a Catholic Church. Vermeer is believed to have converted to Catholicism when he married his wife, Catharina Bolnes.

I am not in any position to settle the question one way or the other, but I feel that they must have at least known of each other. Van Leeuwenhoek had a draper's shop and lived close to the Markt. How many draper's shops were there in the city? he held important positions in the Municipal administration and he was attracting the attention of international Royalty due to his scientific work. The arrival of Royalty in a town the size of Delft must have been an event of some interest. Vermeer's father was in the "caffa" weaving business (a satin made from silk and linen), also had an inn on the Markt and after his death it was run by Vermeer's mother until just before her death in 1670. Vermeer lived just behind the Markt, at the Nieuwe Kerk end behind the present VVV Information Office in a house owned by his mother-in-law, Maria Thins. She was well-off and would have been known in the town. Vermeer was named Headman of the Guild of St. Lucas twice, once in 1662 and again in 1670 which should have been noted by the municipal officials, of whom van Leeuwenhoek was one. Another potential link between the two men has been mentioned in the use of the camera obscura. It has been remarked that Vermeer could have used [again, some say did use] the camera obscura to achieve the perspective in his paintings and van Leeuwenhoek would have been interested in such optical devices being developed at the time.

With the rise of a more secular citizenry, we see a distinct departure from works of art previously centred on religious themes. We enter the world of genre painting; that is painting of domesticity and scenes of everyday life. We see paintings set in private homes and also in taverns, shops, courtyards and so on. Interior design now includes tiles.

Another view of the Phoenixstraat sculpture.

We begin with Vermeer's paintings which show tiles as they were used in the home. [Some titles vary ] See The Milkmaid ; Lady seated at a Virginal, Lady standing at a Virginal, Lady writing a letter with her Maid and The Geographer. These show blue and white tiles used as the skirting board/baseboard where the wall meets the floor.

Lady standing at a Virginal [Young Woman Standing at a Virginal] National Gallery, London.
     There are 5 tiles [facing the viewer] on the back wall and 14 along the side wall. They show single figures in action [people at work?] with no corner designs.

Lady seated at a Virginal. London, National Gallery. Has similar tiles.

The Milkmaid [The Kitchenmaid] Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam [see more below]

The Geographer , c.1668-69. Städelsche Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt.
     Shows tiles with a single central figure and corner designs.

Lady writing a Letter with her Maid, c.1670. National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin ( Sir Alfred Beit Collection) Shows tiles with a single central figure and corners, all rather unclear.

I have found very little commentary in the literature about the tiles shown in Dutch paintings, probably because not many are shown. However, critiques are singularly silent on floors and walls although other items are given detailed attention. The images are, of course rather small especially if only seen in reproductions in books. One interesting little point comes up, though, with The Milkmaid. There are three skirting board tiles shown on the wall behind the Milkmaid's figure and just behind a footwarmer. The footwarmer was a symbol for feelings of love, attentiveness, comfort and faithfulness and Wheelock ["Vermeer and the Art...] says the two most visible tiles depict cupids at play to match this theme. [The third tile is too unclear to describe.] However, on the Internet, in the "Vermeer Clickable Map", Roy Williams Clickery says the tiles show travelling artisans who take their tools with them.

Sint Hieronimus Poort Pieter de Hooch lived here. Oude Delft 161.

Vermeer was not alone in including tiles in his paintings; in fact when we look at the the works of Pieter de Hooch, a contemporary of Vermeer, we see more tiles than we do in Vermeer's works. Born in Rotterdam in 1629, De Hooch lived in Delft roughly from 1655 to 1660 and died sometime after 1684 in Amsterdam in the insane asylum, the Dolhuis.

Pieter de Hooch uses the same scene more than once, with variations and modifications. It does make things a little confusing. The tiles shown are blue and white.

Mother and Child with a Serving Woman Sweeping, c. 1655-57. Private collection.
     View into room in background with chequered tiles along wall. Chequered tile floors.

A Woman and Child in a Pantry, c.1658. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. [Other titles: Woman and Child in an Interior; The Pantry ]
     Skirting board tiles show 2 figures and have no corner decoration. Chequered tile floors. The woman is handing a small flagon of beer to the child.

A Woman with a Baby in her Lap, and a Small Child, 1658. Aurora Art Fund.
     Shows the same room as in The Pantry, but from a different angle and a few modifications. The skirting board tiles very indistinct. The child here is holding a little dog, while the mother holding the baby.

A Woman Nursing an Infant with a Child and a Dog, [A Woman Nursing an Infant, with a Child Feeding a Dog] c1658-60. Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Palace of the Legion of Honor.
     The composition and room are very similar to those in Woman peeling Apples... The fire place seems to be the same. The tiles on the fireplace in both paintings show one figure and no corner designs. The tiles on the floor are changed to marble in the latter.

Woman peeling Apples, with a small Child, c.1663 The Wallace Collection, London.
     Tiles on one side of kitchen hob (fireplace) They are indistinct, but show one figure seemingly with no corner designs or very small ones in centre when four tiles together.

A Woman preparing Vegetables, with a Child., 1657. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.
     Tiles indistinct; figures, corner decoration.

The Bedroom, c1658-60.[Woman by a Box Bed. ] National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
The Bedroom, c1658-60. Staatliche Kunsthalle, Karlsruhe.
      These two paintings have a woman and a child in more or less the same scene. Tiles are lined halfway up the wall on either side of the doorway; they show two figures playing games. Corner decoration.

Children in a Doorway with "colf" Sticks, c1658-60 [Kolf Players], c1658-60. The National Trust, Polesden Lacey., England.
      This is a variant of The Bedroom, concentrating on the child. The child is seen close up and a second child is shown in the background, both with Colf sticks. The tiles are lined half way up the wall on either side of doorway; 2 figures, playing, with corner decoration. These tiles are much clearer than those in The Bedroom.

A Mother and Child with its Head in her Lap, c. 1658-60. [A woman delousing a Child's Hair.; Maternal Duty ] Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.
      This room appears to be the same as that in The Bedroom. The woman and child are on the right of the painting and a little dog gazes out the door at the right. Tiles are lined halfway up wall on one side of doorway; 2 figures and corner designs.

Two Women beside a Linen Chest, with a Child, 1663. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.
     Tiles on bottom stair riser.

A Woman with a Young Boy Preparing for School [The School Boy. n.d. ?] 1661-63. J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles.
     Tiles on bottom stair riser.

Mother and Child with Schoolboy descending a Stair, 1668. H. Bischoff (on loan to Wallraf-Richartz-Museum, Cologne)
     Tiles on bottom stair riser.

A Man Reading a Letter to a Woman, c1670-74. Private collection.
     White tiles on lower half of wall, indication of tiles in the fireplace and a Wan-li kraakporcelain vase on mantlepiece.

Tiles shown by other artists

Emanuel de Witte (1617-1692)
      Interior with a Woman at a Clavicord [Interior with a Woman at a Virginal] c.1665. Museum Boymans-van Beuningen on loan from the Netherlands Office for the Fine Arts.
     Plain tiles line halfway up a wall in a back room.

Cornelis de Man (1621-1706)
      A Couple playing Chess. [The Game of Chess; The Chess Players] c.1670. Szépmtüvészeti Múzeum, Budapest.
     Tiles alongside fireplace- indistinct decoration, includes corner decoration.

     A Man weighing Gold. [The Gold Weigher] c.1670. Two rows of tiles on either side of the fireplace. Central illustration (figures, landscape?) No corner decoration.

     Scholar in a Study. Geometric design on tiles around the fireplace.

Pieter Janssens Elinga (1623-b.1682)
      Woman sweeping. Late 1660's or 1670's. Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlung, Alte Pinakothek, Munich.
      Blue and white skirting board tiles with central shape and corner designs.

Samuel van Hoogstraten (1627-1678)
      Perspective of an Interior viewed from a doorway (The Slippers). Musee du Louvre, Paris. Tiles show a figure and corner designs.

Gabriel Metsu (1629-1667)
      Man writing a Letter, c. 1662-5. National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin (Sir Alfred Beit Collection) The tiles appear to depict small birds and have small corner designs.

Overall, the floors shown range from rough stone, broken bricks, wooden planks to large tiles and marble, depending on the wealth and status of the owners. These paintings act as a contemporary record of the use of tiles in the Dutch home. What were the real tiles like on the real walls and fireplaces?

Huis Lambert van Meerten

The types of Dutch tiles being produced during this time period can be seen in Delft's Museum Huis Lambert van Meerten. The Huis Lambert van Meerten was built by Lambert Anthony van Meerten between 1892 and 1893. His family were industrialists, managing the Delft Distillery and other factories. Lambert was interested in music and the arts and had a very valuable collection encompassing paintings, porcelain, Delftware, glass, furniture and books. While business was flourishing van Meerten built this house, which combined the talents of Jan Schouten, an architect and Adolf le Comte who took responsibility for the decoration and landscaping. It was a house worthy of the arts to be displayed there. Unfortunately, due to poor investments and the fire which destroyed the distillery, van Meerten went into bankruptcy. The house and his collections were due to be sold. The shock of his losses lead to his death in 1904. His friends, Jan Schouten and Adolf le Comte managed over time to save the house and set about gathering a collection again. The Museum opened in 1909. Some parts of the building were retrieved from structures damaged by fire and included in restorations; furniture had to be bought back from private owners, paintings and other valuables were donated to the Museum. And so it went.

The founding collection of tiles belonged to Jan Schouten and was acquired in 1920. They covered the period of the sixteenth to the 19th centuries and originated in the Northern Netherlands. The collection has been expanded through the years.

In the Huis Lambert van Meerten you will find a range of tiles produced throughout the country, but not necessarily produced in Delft. Considering the number of tiles on display and the many which must be in storage, I have been very selective and include some I can illustrate.