Woman Holding a Balance

The window is covered partially by a curtain, although some light enters the room. In the first sight the painting has a mysterious atmosphere. We do not see exactly what the women is weighting and most of the room is concealed because of lack of light, only woman’s clothes and hands are brightly lighten, as if the author wants us to concentrate on that part. Light flows from a window, and washes across the wall, revealing a painting of the Last Judgment. This painting behind her symbolizes the weighing of souls after they are gone from this earth. The next item on the canvas that catches attention is the mirror in front of the women. It is reflecting her actions, her choice between the paths that life offers her. There are pearls and jewelry which could mean a very attractive time passing, but the woman is indecisive about it. She is trying to make up her mind if she wants a spiritual living or the material things which are represented by the pearls. We can see that woman’s face is very calm and has a serene expression as if telling us that she probably will choose God’s path in life, especially taking into consideration the gloomy painting behind her. Her eyes, although it may seem, are not looking at the balance, her gaze is rather turned inward to her thoughts and inner spirit. This symbol again implies that the woman turns her existence to a divine side. Another symbolic meaning is carried by the light distribution on the picture. For instance, the background painting is hidden in the shadow, although still can be seen, meaning that while living people often do not consider the consequences of their lives, but nevertheless it does exist and it will come in the end. It leads us to conclusion that while here the women is making this decision about good and bad, having the thought of the "end" in her mind, she is thinking of eternal matters and is only concerned with them, as the light allocation hints. The name of the painting itself, tells that the author suggests a balanced spiritual principle that is often manifest in Vermeer's work: the need to lead a balanced life. Though Vermeer's working methods remain a mystery to these days, it is clear that he constructed this composition with extreme care. If we mentally draw orthogonal lines through the woman’s finger from different sides of the painting, we will discover that Vermeer remained devoted to his philosophical views and even the composition of the canvas support it, as he keeps a perfect balance between the sections of the painting. I would like to return to the light issues in this painting again as I think it is one of the most important elements which identify the major theme and focus of it. I believe that light not only means to attract attention to the hands, but also tells us that the women experiences some sort of spiritual enlightening, which gives her strengths and she feels God’s presence in her life. Probably that could explain her facial expression which reminds of Virgin Mary. Vermeer maintained extraordinary control over his paints, he worked effectively with both dense impasto and thin glazes, which give a finishing shiny touch to the colors and have a better effect on the viewer, for instance when the author wants to emphasize dramatic black or contrasting unsullied yellow or white. The effect of soft light is achieved through delicate modulation in paint handling. The overall impression of the painting is twofold. Initially it is seen as a gloomy picture of a sad woman stressed by all the shades and numerous darks spots on the canvas. The true understanding and real appreciation comes afterwards, when small details are discovered. One can find that this painting is genuine masterpiece with multiple meanings and a whole life story behind it. Only the author knows exactly what he meant when he portray wrote that canvas, but everyone looking at it can extract some universal truths from it, such as good vs. bad, material vs. spiritual, darkness and light, beauty and ugliness.