Vermeer's "View of Delft" is one of the first cityscape paintings which show a city or a street as their theme. In this article I want to make clear from two aspects what situation led him to take the new theme. Firstly, judging from the accurate maps and the prints of city views copied by Vermeer in his works we can see he was very interested in topography. His "View of Delft" was depicted from a higher angle just like the prints of city views which were popular in Holland at that time. He must have been influenced by traditional prints of city views when he chose the cityscape as the theme. Secondly, as another important aspect, I want to point out the Delft School's stylistic revolution around 1650s which was carried out mainly in the architectural paintings but affected the cityscape paintings as well. In the Delft school's works we can see the features which are indispensable for the cityscape painting: a wide-angle view and a gentile atmosphere. Through analysing the composition of Vermeer's "View of Delft" I came to the conclution that these features were taken over to this picture and flourished with dexterity. The stylistic revolution in the Delft School played the important part when this picture came into existence.