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Woman Holding a Balance
Johannes Vermeer · Baroque & Dutch Golden Age
- Artist
- Johannes Vermeer (1632–1675)
- Date
- c. 1662–1663
- Dimensions
- 39.7 x 35.5 cm
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Location
- National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., United States
Woman Holding a Balance shows a young woman in a blue jacket trimmed with fur, standing at a table by a window. She holds a small, empty balance delicately between her fingertips, waiting for the pans to come to rest.
A closer look
On the table lie strings of pearls, gold coins and an open jewellery box, lit by the soft light that filters through the curtain. On the wall behind her hangs a painting of the Last Judgement, in which Christ weighs souls. The parallel between the woman's empty scales and the divine judgement suggests a reflection on balance and moderation: earthly treasures must be weighed against the life of the soul. A mirror on the wall reminds us of vanity. Vermeer's light and stillness make a moment of everyday life feel almost sacred.
History of the painting
The painting is first recorded in the famous Amsterdam auction of 1696, where twenty-one works by Vermeer from the estate of Jacob Dissius were sold. In 1911 the Philadelphia collector Peter A. B. Widener bought it, and in 1942 his son Joseph Widener gave the family’s great collection, including this picture, to the young National Gallery of Art in Washington.
More by Johannes Vermeer
In this gallery
Girl with a Pearl Earring
Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window
The Milkmaid
View of Delft
The Art of Painting
The Little Street
The Astronomer
The Lacemaker
Famous works elsewhere
- The Geographer 1668
- The Procuress 1656
- Christ in the House of Martha and Mary 1650
- A Girl Asleep 1657
- Diana and her Nymphs 1650