Where to See Woman Holding a Balance in Washington, D.C.

Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer painted this Woman Holding a Balance around 1664. A young woman in a blue jacket stands before a table scattered with gold coins and pearls, delicately holding an empty balance scale. Behind her hangs a painting of the Last Judgment, with Christ positioned directly above her head.

The empty scales sparked centuries of debate. Once called "Woman Weighing Gold," modern examination revealed she's weighing nothing at all. Scholars interpret this as a call for spiritual balance over material wealth. The pearls, mirror, and treasures remind viewers of earthly possessions' fleeting value compared to divine judgment.

Some art historians see the woman as pregnant, perhaps evoking the Virgin Mary. Her serene expression suggests inner peace. The painting hangs at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., a prime example of Vermeer's quiet domestic scenes.

It's at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. Vermeer painted it around 1662-1663. It's one of the finest Vermeers in any American collection.

Nothing. The balance pans are empty. Earlier interpretations assumed she was weighing gold or pearls (which sit on the table), but close examination revealed empty scales. She's contemplating the act of balance itself, not weighing material goods.

A Last Judgment scene hangs on the wall directly behind the woman, with Christ weighing souls. The parallel is deliberate: she weighs earthly things while Christ weighs spiritual ones. Vermeer embedded moral meaning in what appears to be a simple domestic scene.

It measures 42.5 cm × 38 cm (16.7 × 15 inches). Like most Vermeer paintings, it's small. Light enters from a window on the left, illuminating the woman's face and the blue cloth on the table. The Dutch Golden Age setting is intimate and precise.

The soft light that wraps around the woman's face and hands demonstrates Vermeer's mastery of diffused illumination. He likely used a camera obscura to study light effects. The result is a stillness and clarity that no other 17th-century painter achieved so consistently.

Woman Holding a Balance

More by Johannes Vermeer

Saint Praxedis

Details

Where to See It

The Artist

Cite or Embed This Work

Young Woman with a Water Pitcher

A Young Woman Seated at a Virginal

A Young Woman Seated at the Virginals

Also at National Gallery of Art

Gian Federico Madruzzo Oil Canvas Giovanni Battista[1]

Dancer in pink dress

Holy Family

The Harbor at Lorient

Girl with the Red Hat

Woman Reading a Letter

The Art of Painting

Laocoön

The Laughing Cavalier

Bathsheba at Her Bath

The Jewish Bride

Portrait of Innocent X

Self-Portrait

The Rokeby Venus

Las Meninas

The Calling of Saint Matthew

About Woman Holding a Balance

Own Art Like This