Woman Holding a Balance by Johannes Vermeer

Woman Holding a Balance - Johannes Vermeer - Fine Art Canvas Wall Art

About This Piece

For collectors searching fine art oil painting, Woman Holding a Balance is a dependable choice. Painted in layered oils on canvas after Johannes Vermeer, this classical work reads equally well as classic canvas wall art and as a thoughtful housewarming gift.

About the Artwork

c. 1662-1665
Oil on canvas
National Gallery of Art - Washington, United States.

Mark Harden:

"This painting has been known until recently as "The Goldweigher" or "Girl Weighing Pearls". Microscopic analysis, however, has revealed the pans of the balance to be empty. The highlight on the pans is not rendered with lead-tin yellow, which is used elsewhere on the canvas to depict gold. Vermeer represented pearls with a thin gray layer topped with a white highlight. The pan highlight is a single layer. In addition, there no loose pearls on the table that would indicate other pearls waiting to be weighed.

This seemingly trivial analysis as to what is being weighed actually bears importantly on the meaning of the work. For "Woman Holding a Balance" is overtly allegorical. The woman stands between a depiction of the Last Judgment hung in a heavy black frame and a table covered with jewelry representing material possessions. The empty scale stresses that she is balancing spiritual rather than material considerations. Vermeer's portrayal does not impart a sense of tension or conflict, rather the woman exudes serenity. Her self-knowledge is reflected in the mirror on the wall. Vermeer's point is that we should lead lives of moderation with full understanding of the implications of a final judgment.

The composition is designed to focus attention on the small and delicate balance being held. The woman's arms act as a frame, with the small finger of her right hand extended to echo the horizontal lever of the balance. The bottom of the painting frame is even altered to provide a partial niche for the scales. The frame ends higher in front of the woman than it does behind her. The complex interplay between verticals and horizontals, objects and negative space, and light and shadow results in a strongly balanced, yet still active composition. The scales are balanced, but dynamically asymmetrical. A cleaning in 1994 revealed previously undetectable gold trim on the black frame that provides a tonal link to the yellow of the curtain and the woman's costume.

"Vermeer has endowed "Woman Holding a Balance" with more overtly allegorical context than his other domestic scenes. As such, it loses some of the invitingly subjective interpretation of a less direct work such as "Woman in Blue Reading a Letter". Nevertheless, Vermeer's masterful composition and execution produced a powerful and moving work."

Our artists reproduce this fine art composition in oil on canvas by hand, preserving the tonal range that makes fine art oil painting so sought after for a dining room.

How It Is Made

Materials matter for classical wall decor. That is why this piece is built on artist-grade canvas with lightfast oil colors, applied by hand rather than output from a printer, and sealed for long-term display.

What Is Included

• 100% hand-painted oil painting on artist-grade canvas — never a print or digital reproduction.
• An extra 2-inch blank border is left around all edges for easy stretching and framing.
• Direct-from-studio worldwide delivery with no third-party resellers.
• Available canvas sizes for this hand painted oil painting: 20 X 24 in, 24 X 36 in, 30 X 40 in, 36 X 48 in, 48 X 72 in.
• Any size you need can be produced — just tell us your preferred dimensions.
• Choose from DHL, UPS, FedEx, USPS and other competitively priced carriers.
• We stretch your canvas onto wooden bars at no extra charge, and can arrange custom framing.
• A digital photo of your finished painting is emailed for approval before shipment.

Where to Hang It

Style it over a fireplace, behind a reading chair, or along a staircase. Wherever it goes, this classical oil painting wall decor adds the layered color that only a hand painted canvas provides.

Shipping & Guarantee

Whether the search term is fine art oil painting, dining room wall art, or classical oil painting wall decor, this hand painted canvas delivers the same thing: a real painted surface, made to your chosen dimensions.