Tim’s Vermeer
Tim’s Vermeer is a film about watching paint dry – literally. However, the painter and his project is so fascinating that it is hard to be bored. The man is Tim Jenison, an inventor and computer video software pioneer who is infatuated with the work of Dutch master Johannes Vermeer. His ambitious art experiment is to replicate Vermeer’s The Music Lesson. The challenge should be daunting for Jenison, who has never painted before.
For centuries, art historians have wondered how a man with no record of artistic training could capture such a vivid portrait of reality in his oil paintings. The light and color in his paintings look photorealistic, so how could Vermeer have picked up such detail? Well, scholars suggest he must have used a camera obscura – a precursor for the camera, as it projects an image on a blank surface.
The film comes from entertainer illusionists Penn (who produces) and Teller (who directs). They capture a kind of magic that is awe-inspiring, as Jenison tries his hand at using the same device to figure out whether one can paint a masterpiece the way Vermeer did. He even tries to use oil paints from materials akin to the ones the Dutch master used.
Even those uninterested in art history will likely be caught up in this intriguing experiment. Jenison is a compelling subject, a perfectionist who sometimes turn sour as he attempts to be as meticulous as possible. That sounds like the life of the artist – or, as some would argue, the craftsman – to me.