Movies: Tim´s Vermeer

(Drivebycuriosity) - Johannes Vermeer was a revolutionizer, kind of. The Dutch painter lived in the 16th century and created images which were different from the works of his colleagues. Vermeer´s paintings look like modern photo-realistic paintings because of their accuracy and the unique use of light (wikipedia). The British artist David Hockney and others believe that Vermeer must have used a camera obscura, a precursor of a movie projector, to create his stunning effects.
 
The movie "Tim's Vermeer", shot by the magicians Penn & Teller, follows Tim Jenison (imdb). The documentary shows how the Texan engineer, software developer and inventor painted an exact copy of Vermeer´s "The Music Lesson" with the help of a self-constructed camera obscura and a mirror in order to prove Hockney´s thesis. VanityFair has a nice and long article about this project (vanityfair).

I liked the film a lot. I was impressed how stubbornly methodical and painstakingly Jenison realized his obsession.  I also enjoyed the beauty of Vermeer´s paintings which fanned my appetite to see more of his work. The movie is highly recommended for art lovers and connoisseurs of well made documentaries.