Woman Holding a Balance Critique - Essay Example

Their work revealed that at some point in the past, the painting had been extended by a half inch on all four sides. Conservators removed the added paint to restore it to its original size.

As with other elements in Woman Holding a Balance, Vermeer's technique reveals the utmost in skill and care.

Infrared reflectography (IR) reveals that Vermeer changed the position and increased the size of the balance.

In the 1660s Vermeer painted pearls in two layers: first, a thin, diffused greyish glaze, followed by a thick stroke on top to create a specular highlight. He may have experimented with a camera obscura to achieve these optical effects.

Vermeer maintained extraordinary control over his paints, working effectively with both dense impastos and thin glazes. The effect of soft light is achieved through subtle modulations in paint handling. Under high magnification, we can analyze how Vermeer represented light on different surfaces. Click on the three squares for a closer look.

Vermeer's Woman with a Balance contains multiple levels of meaning. Much of its significance depends upon the emotions and experiences of the viewer.

The balance traditionally symbolizes justice--after all, to judge is to weigh. With nothing in its pans, it is not quite symmetrical, yet almost at equilibrium. In an exquisite passage of visual poetry, the woman's little finger echoes the horizontal arm of the balance and picture frame. 

The woman with her blue robe expresses serenity. Her eyes are downcast; her gaze seems to be inward. Golden light falls on her ample belly, further emphasized by a yellow streak. Some contemporary authors speculate that the woman is pregnant, while others conclude that her costume--a short jacket, a bodice, and a thickly padded skirt--reflects a style of dress current in the early to mid-1660s.

Artists often use light to denote supernatural events and spiritual enlightenment; God is light, a source of spiritual illumination and strength.

In the Last Judgment, Christ in majesty judges the souls below in this violent and fearsome final reckoning of mankind. The woman's head obscures the place where Saint Michael customarily would be weighing souls in the balance. The figure of Christ appears immediately above the woman's head, reinforcing the interpretation that her mundane act is intended to parallel the weighing of souls in The Last Judgment. While the Day of Judgment is violent and final, the woman seems serene and contemplative.

In Vermeer's painting, a frame on the wall contains a mirror. Mirrors in art often symbolize vanity or self-knowledge.