TIM'S VERMEER
Directed by Teller
Before moving images danced across silver screens, people contented themselves with staring at paintings and marvelling, How did they do that? The majority of Johannes Vermeer's admirers are still at a loss to explain how he instilled such luminosity and nearly photographic accuracy in his 17th century masterworks.
And while most are content to allow the mystery to remain just that, inventor Tim Jenison has become convinced that Vermeer's technique involved optical devices. And how better to prove this theory than by assembling just such a device and painting a Vermeer of his own with hands that've never held a brush?
Documenting Tim's quest in enthralling fashion are illusionists-debunkers ? as odd a hyphenate as you'll find ? Penn and Teller (the former narrating, the latter directing). Known for taking magic tricks apart to show audiences how they work, they obviously share their subject's fascination with methodology. However, when it comes to Vermeer, they can't hold a candle to Tim in terms of obsession. While meticulously recreating The Music Lesson's room and then rendering it in oils, Tim's passion burns so bright that it distracts a viewer from the fact that this occasionally feels like an extended episode of a Discovery reality series.
However, as it attempts to pull back the curtain on what could be one of art's greatest magic tricks, the film in no way diminishes Vermeer's accomplishments. In fact, watching Tim being pushed to his breaking point during his recreation, we come to understand the dedication and discipline that the creative process demands. And while the inventor maintains that he's not an artist, there are occasions when his tortured countenance suggests otherwise
