Woman Holding a Balance
c. 1664 · Oil on canvas · National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
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About this work
- Artist
- Johannes Vermeer (1632–1675)
- Year
- c. 1664
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Original size
- 42.5 × 38 cm
- Collection
- National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
- Movement
- Dutch Golden Age
A woman in a fur-trimmed blue jacket stands at a table in the corner of a dim room, holding a small balance perfectly level. Open boxes spill pearls and a gold chain across the table, a mirror hangs beside the window, and behind her is a painting of the Last Judgement. For a long time the picture was called Woman Weighing Gold, until microscopic examination showed the pans are empty; she is testing the balance, not her jewels. Vermeer painted it around 1664, and the pairing of a calm woman with the scene of judgement has drawn many readings, from a vanitas warning to a meditation on a balanced life. It sold for 155 guilders at the Dissius sale in Amsterdam in 1696, more than The Officer and Laughing Girl fetched. It is in the Widener Collection at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, which notes that the canvas was later extended by about five centimetres on every side.
This exhibition-poster edition shows the whole work beneath original typography set in-house. The original is in the public domain.
Details & materials
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About this design
The Madten promise
A fine-art print
The same artwork as a clean fine-art print — the image shown large with a minimal caption.
