Tim's Vermeer

Fine art and technology combine in this fascinating documentary about how an obsessive amateur was able to recreate an astonishingly precise replica of one of Johannes Vermeer's most famous paintings. Magicians Penn and Teller introduce NewTek computer graphics inventor Tim Jenison—a self-made millionaire friend—who marvels over how 17th-century Dutch master Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675) was able to paint with a luminous, photographic clarity that rivals photorealism, long before the modern-day camera was invented. With no previous training in painting, Jenison set out to reproduce Vermeer's The Music Lesson. After reading artist David Hockney's Secret Knowledge: Rediscovering the Lost Techniques of the Old Masters and studying the mathematical calculations in architect-professor Philip Steadman's Vermeer's Camera: Uncovering the Truth Behind the Masterpieces, Jenison conducted an experiment to prove that Vermeer was able to achieve his exceptional effects through projected optical images, ingeniously utilizing mirrors and lenses. Directed by Teller, Tim's Vermeer finds Jenison chatting amiably with Penn Jillette while demonstrating how his relentless research unraveled the mystery that stumped scholars for decades. After learning to read Dutch, and visiting the artist's hometown of Delft, Jenison recreates Vermeer's studio in a Texas warehouse, complete with window décor, furniture, rugs, and costumed models. To insure accuracy, Jenison inveigles his way into Buckingham Palace to view the Queen's private collection; grinds his own pigments, using only ingredients that were available to Vermeer; and spends months hunched over a 29” x 25” canvas, squinting through a variety of lenses in the kind of camera obscura that Vermeer must have used—ultimately duplicating every detail with painstaking precision. Highly recommended. Editor's Choice. [Note: Blu-ray/DVD Combo extras include audio commentary by director Teller, subject Tim Jenison, and co-producers Penn Jillette and Farley Ziegler, extended and alternate scenes (140 min.), deleted scenes (25 min.), a Q&A from the Toronto International Film Festival (22 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: a fine extras package for an excellent documentary.] (S. Granger)