Most of Vermeer's paintings are portraits or genre scenes. He painted only two landscapes, including this view of Delft, where the painter originated.

This painting might have passed relatively unnoticed in the art world had it not been for the praise of writer Marcel Proust many years later. And what praise! For him, it is nothing less than the most beautiful painting in the world! In his novel "La Prisonnière", the author Bergotte suffers a heart attack and dies in front of this painting, admiring it and regretting not having been able to do as good a job in his work as "le petit pan de mur jaune". Proust himself suffered an asthma attack in front of this painting.

The work on color and light is indeed remarkable. Early-morning light illuminates the canvas, half of which is taken up by a cloudy sky characteristic of Dutch painting. The four planes that make up the painting are each distinguished by their own color, creating an effect of calm and stability. This early-morning calm is reinforced by the presence of docked boats and the occasional figure in the foreground.

Vue de Delft has a panoramic effect comparable to the vedute of the Venetian painters.

Among the questions raised by the paintings of the Delft Sphinx (Vermeer's life is so shrouded in mystery that this is the nickname given to him) is the use of the camera obscura. It is thought that the painter used this optical device, the ancestor of the camera, known since Antiquity. By projecting the subject to be painted upside down onto a flat surface, the camera obscura gives the artist great precision.