Woman Holding a Balance
| A Woman Holding a Balance | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | Johannes Vermeer |
| Year | c. 1662–1663 |
| Medium | Oil on canvas |
| Movement | Dutch Golden Age painting |
| Dimensions | 42.5 cm × 38 cm (16.7 in × 15 in) |
| Location | National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. |
Woman Holding a Balance (Dutch: Vrouw met weegschaal), also called Woman Testing a Balance, is an oil painting by Dutch Golden Age painter Johannes Vermeer, now in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.
At one time the painting, completed c. 1662–1663, was known as Woman Weighing Gold, but closer evaluation has determined that the balance in her hand is empty. Opinions on the theme and symbolism of the painting differ, with the woman alternatively viewed as a symbol of holiness or earthliness.
Theme
In the painting, Vermeer has depicted, what discreetly appears to be a young pregnant woman holding an empty
According to Robert Huerta in Vermeer and Plato: Painting the Ideal (2005), the image has been variously "interpreted as a
History
Completed in 1662 or 1663, the painting was previously called Woman Weighing Gold before microscopic evaluation confirms that the balance in her hands is empty.
Painting materials
The first pigment analysis of this painting by Hermann Kühn
See also
Notes
- ^ a b Huerta (2005), p. 54
- ^ Walther & Suckale (2002), p. 332.
- ^ a b Huerta (2005), p. 85.
- ^ Montias (1991), p. 191.
- ^ Kenner (2006), p. 56.
- ^ Roskill (1989), p. 148.
- ^ Carroll & Stewart (2003), p. 61.
- ^ Zucker, Steven; Harris, Beth (December 11, 2015). "Johannes Vermeer, Woman Holding a Balance". Smarthistory.
- ^ Montias (1991), p. 162.
- ^ Montias (1991), p. 182, 256.
- ^ Montias (1991), p. 182.
- JSTOR 42618099.
- JSTOR 42622607.
- ^ "Johannes Vermeer, 'Woman Holding a Balance'". ColourLex.
References
- Carroll, Jane Louise; Stewart, Alison G. (2003). Saints, Sinners, and Sisters: Gender and Northern Art in Medieval and Early Modern Europe. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. ISBN 978-0-7546-0589-8. Retrieved 29 June 2010.
- Huerta, Robert D. (2005). Vermeer and Plato: Painting the Ideal. Bucknell University Press. ISBN 978-0-8387-5606-5. Retrieved 29 June 2010.
- Kenner, T. A. (October 2006). Symbols and Their Hidden Meanings: The Mysterious Significance and Forgotten Origins of Signs and Symbols in the Modern World. Thunder's Mouth Press. ISBN 978-1-56025-949-7. Retrieved 29 June 2010.
- ISBN 978-0-691-00289-7. Retrieved 29 June 2010.
- Roskill, Mark W. (June 1989). What is art history?. Univ of Massachusetts Press. ISBN 978-0-87023-675-4. Retrieved 29 June 2010.
- Sweetman, Robert (March 2007). In the Phrygian mode: neo-Calvinism, antiquity and the lamentations of reformational philosophy. University Press of America. ISBN 978-0-7618-3021-4. Retrieved 29 June 2010.
- Walther, Ingo F.; Suckale, Robert (1 September 2002). Masterpieces of Western Art: A History of Art in 900 Individual Studies from the Gothic to the Present Day. Taschen. ISBN 978-3-8228-1825-1. Retrieved 29 June 2010.
Further reading
- ISBN 978-0-87099-973-4.
- Salomon, Nanette (1998). "From Sexuality to Civility: Vermeer's Women". Studies in the History of Art. 55. National Gallery of Art: 309–322. JSTOR 42622615.
External links
- Johannes Vermeer, Woman Holding a Balance, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
- Johannes Vermeer, Woman Holding a Balance, Colourlex
- Janson, J., Johannes Vermeer, Woman Holding a Balance, Essential Vermeer, website.
