Woman Holding a Balance

Woman with scales, also called The Perlenwägerin, is a created by Jan Vermeer in the period from 1662 to 1664 oil paintings. It shows an obviously heavily pregnant woman who handled concentrate with a balance. The painting is now in the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC.

Representations of women who are busy trying to weigh something in a small beam balance, were a common motif Dutch painter of that time. It is possible that Jan Vermeer was excited for this image by an oil painting of his colleagues Delft Pieter de Hooch.

Image description

Compared to images as " Milkmaid " or " letter reader in Blue " the interior is quite dark. The lower shutters are closed, the curtains cover the upper part of the window and prevent the sunlight streaming into the room. The right hand of the woman holding the scales, is exactly in the center. By the light guiding the viewer's attention is however drawn to the calm and focused acting face of the woman.

Is a representation of the Last Judgement in the Flemish style on the whitewashed wall behind the woman. Jesus separates here as a judge the righteous man from the unjust. The enthroned Jesus is directly above the woman's head, from her head to the left and right are people who beg for a positive judgment. The intense emotion of this representation is in stark contrast to the serenity of the woman in the foreground. The reference for this painting in the painting to the image content seems obvious: just as the woman here is something weighs, according to Christian faith, even God one day consider the actions of the people.

The painting was traditionally referred to as " The Perlenwägerin ". This title is however increasingly no longer used today. Pearls are indeed seen on the table, but these are already lined up. Individual beads, which would have to weigh more, are not to be discovered. Today mainly the belief is expressed that the woman is busy trying to weigh money. At the edge of the table to the left side of the woman can be seen four small gold coins and a larger silver coin. When the painting was auctioned in 1696, had the title in the auctioning also draw attention to that context.