1/7/2023 0 Comments The guild 2 renaissance meadow![]() ![]() Woman Holding a Balance thus allegorically urges us to conduct our lives with temperance and moderation. Only such introspection could lead to virtuous choices along the path of life. This scene has religious implications that seem related to Saint Ignatius of Loyola’s instructions, in his Spiritual Exercises, that the faithful, prior to meditating, first examine their conscience and weigh their sins as if facing Judgment Day. The visual juxtaposition of the woman and the Last Judgment is reinforced by thematic parallels: to judge is to weigh. The woman is so pensive that the viewer almost hesitates to intrude on her quiet moment of contemplation. ![]() Soft light comes in through the window and illuminates the scene. A shimmering blue cloth, open boxes, two strands of pearls, and a gold chain lie on the sturdy table. A large painting of the Last Judgment, framed in black, hangs on the back wall of the room. The scales in her right hand are at equilibrium, suggestive of her inner state of mind. A woman dressed in a blue jacket with fur trim stands serenely at a table in a corner of a room. Woman Holding a Balance is a superb example of Johannes Vermeer’s exquisite sense of stability and rhythm.
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