National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. Houses Significant Vermeer Collection, Including 'Woman Holding a Balance'
The National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., is home to a notable collection of works by the Dutch master Johannes Vermeer. Among its holdings is the painting 'Woman Holding a Balance,' created around 1664. This artwork depicts a woman at a table with a small set of scales, which are notably empty. The interpretation of these empty scales has been a subject of debate among scholars for over a century, with discussions revolving around whether it symbolizes the weighing of gold or pearls, or if it carries a deeper allegorical meaning. Behind the woman, a painting of the Last Judgment, depicting souls being weighed, hangs on the wall, adding another layer of interpretive complexity. The painting spent much of the 19th century in private collections in Paris before being correctly identified as a Vermeer and eventually making its way to the United States as part of the famous Widener Collection, which was donated to the gallery in 1942. It is also noted that a fourth painting previously attributed to Verm...
