Delft blue - Delft, The Netherlands

Pavement in Delft

We visited Delft in the autumn of 2005, as we travelled for two weeks on vacation to Holland (The Netherlands). From the moment we fell in love with it. Hard to explain why. You must see it with your own eyes, though, admittedly - preconceived eyes. But later about this.

Picturesque city - on Delft the phrase can be used literally. We spend hours walking through the paved streets and little bridges, sitting in a cafe, watching the passers-by, and, of course, taking photographs. I do not think that photographs reproduce our feelings completely, but if it succeeded at least in part, it is a good thing.

Swans in Delft

The prevailing colour in "Delft Blue" is not blue, but rather a brick colour, at times rolling in the red, and the green (at least in the summer).

Channels are covered with green ooze (sometimes with water lily), as if with a carpet. And, almost as on the old mats on the wall, this carpet has swans as well.

Old house

"Delft Blue" is an established name of famous blue faience.

Online you often encounter phrases like "surprisingly looks like Gzhel" or "I will call delft - Gzhel". In fact, "Gzhel", as we know it now, appeared in the 19^th century, when the skilled workmen from the small town Gzhel by Moscow created a combination of faience with cobalt blue.

I do not know whether the method was borrowed or created independently. There is, however, no doubt that "Gzhel" was made under the influence of "Delft Blue", produced since the 17^th century. "Delft Blue", in turn, was not born out of nothing, but was a response to wide distributed Italian majolica.

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