Tim Jenison, a Texas-based inventor, reads a book one day about the absolute perfection that is the work of Dutch-artist Johannes Vermeer. You may remember his "Girl with the Pearl Earring," for one. His paintings are iconic, almost too-realistic to be anything but photographs. He is the master of light. He created no more than 30 paintings in his lifetime, but they are substantial enough for some to claim him as the greatest painter of all time. But how did he do it? Tim has found the solution.
The film delves into Vermeer's life, but not as much as you would suspect. We witness a simple scientific experiment, with a hypothesis, execution, and conclusion. As Tim explains midway through the film, it's not subjective, this work is all objective.
Using a simple rigging of mirrors and concave lenses, Tim believes he has discovered the secret long-lost as the method used by Vermeer. While some hold evidence in his using of a device called a 'camera obscura,' Tim's method much simpler; more inspired.
We learn immediately that Tim is not a painter - in fact, he has never picked up a brush. Never, that is, until he tests his device for essentially painting a photograph. He takes an old black and white photograph of his father and reproduces it to near photorealism. Professional artists are stunned. Tim's next step? Of course, he will reconstruct an entire room from one of Vermeer's most famous paintings and attempt to copy the master, himself.
The film is created by magicians Penn and Teller, and it's truly a remarkable achievement. Tim Jenison is a man of few words, often comical, often full of emotion. He does not hope to make the jump into the art world, rather he hopes to solve a mystery, much as an inventor of his caliber would. Questions are raised as to whether or not Vermeer is discredited in his work. Afterall, Tim proves that anyone can pick up a brush and truly paint a 'masterpiece.' To say the world's greatest artist essentially copy and pasted all his works is a bold claim. Proving it is even more so. (And wait until you see his final painting...)
Much like magic, though, there is beauty to be found in Tim's discoveries, and as they discuss throughout the film, there is an unnecessary divide between technology and art. Vermeer may have been as much scientist as artist, considering the technical riggings that were devised for him to paint. The film is eye-opening, engrossing, and thoroughly enjoyable. Paintings from the past, as Tim points out, are documents, just as much as a book or building is. The work of Vermeer has just been adjusted to crystal clarity.
(Awards potential: Best Documentary)
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