Art and Money Week: Salomon Koninck's "The Gold Weigher"

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It's no coincidence that the golden age of dutch art occurred at the time when Amsterdam's economy boomed. Artists from that time and place depicted money in their work a great deal. While many European representations of money are used to demonstrate that worldly possessions are evil, many of these Dutch artists portrayed money in a much more mature and positive light. For instance, in this picture, the delicate way this man is holding the scale with his little finger extended demonstrate his gentility and refinement, not baseness or underhandedness. His fashion is dignified, not ostentatious.