From 1661 onwards, the Sint-Lucas Guild House stood at Voldersgracht 21. The entrance to the building overlooked the Market Square via the Oude Manhuissteeg. The Sint-Lucas Guild was the professional association (guild) of painters, glaziers, pottery makers and other artisans in Delft. The guild supervised the quality, training and professional practice of its members. It protected the interests of artists and craftsmen, and membership usually required a period of apprenticeship with a recognised master. The famous Delft painter Johannes Vermeer became a member of the guild in 1653 and twice held the prestigious position of head (administrator) for two years. The Guild of Saint Luke was dissolved in 1833.
Adam de Lint, an entrepreneur in lime, brushes and brooms, then moved into the building.
The building fell into disrepair and was eventually purchased by the municipality in 1875 and demolished in 1876 to make way for the “Public Primary School Number 3”, which was later renamed the Jan Vermeer School. When the school moved to another location in the city in 2004, plans were made to create an information centre about this famous resident of the city of Delft at this location.
The Vermeer Centrum Delft opened in 2007. The façade of the building is as accurate a reconstruction as possible of the original façade of the Sint-Lucas Guild House. This façade incorporates the coats of arms of the Guild of Saint Luke and the city of Delft, among other things. Garlands have also been attached to it. These are casts of the original garlands that hung on the façade of the Guild of Saint Luke and are now embedded in the rear façade of the Rijksmuseum.
The location at Voldersgracht 21 is therefore an important, historically significant site that recalls the centre of the Delft art world in the 17th century and Johannes Vermeer.