An inquisitive inventor/engineer/entrepreneur turns the art history world on its head with his theory about how Johannes Vermeer created his master works. He makes a very compelling argument, and goes to the extreme length of replicating not only a Vermeer painting (The Music Lesson), but the entire live scene as Vermeer saw it, which involves building all the items in the scene from scratch.
He postulates that Vermeer painted using a setup of mirrors & lenses. This setup enabled Vermeer to produce paintings that have a unique photographic quality. The argument is compelling. Not only was Tim able to create an impressive painting with no previous experience, but all kinds of ancillary evidence is presented as well – such as how Vermeer’s paintings have many qualities unique to photographs.
The documentary rightly addresses the question of “what makes an artist great?”. If Vermeer used this method, that makes him no less visionary & talented. Instead, it adds to his genius – he was able to come up with a system so impressive, it remained secret for hundreds of years. As the movie rightly explains: art, science, engineering… they are not separate fields. To be a good artist, you need a broad base of knowledge about materials and techniques. I have to wonder, if Tim was able to create a pretty good replica with no experience… what might a talented artist be able to produce with these same tools? Perhaps a body of work like Vermeer’s.
As for the documentary itself… It’s done by “Teller” of Penn & Teller fame, and it’s about as impressive as Tim’s painting. The style, pacing, storytelling, and shooting are all spot-on. It was a joy to watch.