Delft Explosion
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A View of Delft after the Explosion of 1654
The Delft Explosion occurred on October 12, 1654 when a gunpowder store exploded destroying much of the city of Delft in the Netherlands. Over a hundred people were killed and thousands wounded.
About 40 tonnes of gunpowder were stored in barrels in a magazine in a former Clarissen convent in the Doelenkwartier district. Cornelis Soetens, the keeper of the magazine, opened the store to check a sample of the powder and a huge explosion followed. Luckily, many citizens were away, visiting a market in Schiedam or a fair in the Hague.
Artist Carel Fabritius was wounded in the explosion and died of his injuries.
Egbert van der Poel painted several pictures of Delft after the explosion showing the devastation.
[edit] Further reading
- Vermeer: A View of Delft, Anthony Bailey, Henry Holt & Company, 2001, ISBN 0-8050-6718-3
