Vermeer of Delft
Woman Holding a Balance
(Woman Weighing Gold)
c.1664
National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.
Image Courtesy of Carol Gerten
In 1953 he was admitted to the guild of Saint Luke of Delft as a master painter, and served for four terms on its board of governors. He was the Dean of the Guild in 1663 and 1770. He made his living as an art dealer rather than a painter.
His family, with a wife and eleven children, lived in poverty and debt. He worked very slowly, and painted small pieces. Throughout his life, he painted less than forty pieces, most of which consisted of sunlit domestic interiors with one or two figures. Typically, these quiet, still scenes, usually of a woman by a window, is that of someone doing something, but he has a way of pausing these images to create timeless paintings. It was suggested that he painted these quiet images because he had little of that to enjoy. He preferred to work in total silence, but with eleven children, it would be difficult.
Vermeer died in 1675, leaving a large debt to the baker which his wife tried to pay off. He didn't receive recognition for his work until three centuries later. He often incorporates perspective into his artwork using light, and is known to be a master of composition.