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Man Weighing Gold,
ca. 1515–20 Among the earliest portraits of a sitter shown engaged in his profession, this picture provides an interesting comparison with Christus’s Goldsmith in His Shop, Possibly Saint Eligius. The sitter may have been a banker, a money changer, or one of the many sixteenth-century merchants who handled both commodities and money. His thoughtful expression suggests that the act of weighing gold coins has a symbolic as well as a literal significance here and perhaps alludes to the weighing of souls by Saint Michael on Judgment Day. Isenbrant reworked the portrait extensively. The panel has been cut down on both sides. From Van Eyck to Bruegel Home | Next Page
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