Review // Tim’s Vermeer

Anyone with a passable knowledge of art history will recognize the name Johannes Vermeer. The 17th Century Dutch painter crafted some of the most highly detailed, mysteriously photorealistic pieces of art in all of history. Fewer people will recognize the name Tim Jenison. The inventor and self-made millionaire has made major contributions to the world of television broadcasting, but outside of the industry he remains largely unknown. Yet it is the meeting of these two minds, separated by almost 400 years, that is at the centre of Tim’s Vermeer, a fascinating documentary about the often blurred line between science and art.

Everyone has a wild theory or two that they like to roll around in their mind. For most of us these are regarded as silly little secrets, never to be acted upon and only shared with close friends when we’ve had a few too many. For Tim Jenison however, a theory, a wild idea, is exactly what should be acted upon.  Early in the film we are treated to a montage of Tim’s strange creations. Some of which (like a fan powered scooter) are downright goofy. Others have been so financially successful they have afforded him the time to pursue his flights of fantasy. With this pioneering spirit, Tim decides to take on an idea that has long obsessed not just him, but many art historians: that the Dutch master Johannes Vermeer painted his masterpieces with the help of some sort of optical aid. The argument being that the perfect rendering of light and colour on Vermeer’s canvases could not have been captured by the artist’s eye alone, and therefore he must have used some combination of a camera obscura and mirrors.

With a focus and devotion procrastinators like myself can only dream of, Tim sets off to prove this theory, and paint a Vermeer. The only problem? Tim doesn’t paint. Making his task even more difficult, Tim restricts himself to tools and technologies which would have been available in the 17th Century Dutch Republic. It sounds impossible, but while Tim might seem like your whacky neighbour, he’s actually a brilliant problem solver. Using mirrors and lenses (which he grinds himself), he has soon created a simple yet effective device that allows him to capture colour on canvas with dazzling precision. Transforming an old auto-shop into an exact replica of Vermeer’s studio, he sets off on the nearly year-long quest to replicate the painter’s The Music Lesson, an incredible piece of work with enough fine detail to make your head spin.

Despite all the painting (and there is a lot of painting) Tim’s Vermeer manages to remain engaging and amusing. Narrated by magician Penn Jillette (who also serves as producer, with partner Teller as director) the film pokes fun at Jenison while ultimately yielding to his results. While nothing can be proven, the conclusion of Tim’s work certainly lends credence to the Vermeer optical theory, and the impressed reactions of David Hockney (Vermeer’s Camera) and Philip Steadman (Secret Knowledge) lend it further authority. Tim is a pleasant enough central figure, but feels downright ordinary to be the focus of a documentary. Even he starts to get sick of himself, halfway through his painting admitting that if they were not making a film, he would have moved on to something different by now.

However Tim’s pioneering spirit is infectious, and halfway through the 80 minute runtime we are ready to see the task through even if he isn’t. Tim’s Vermeer is the rare documentary film that, by the end, makes you feel as if you’ve achieved something. The film is not about proving a theory, it’s about the process. It’s about having an idea and working to see it through. We can only imagine the work Vermeer put in to each beautifully realized canvas – and we’ll never know exactly how he did it – but we get a pretty good idea by watching Tim. He makes all of our strange theories seem a little more possible, you just have to be willing to put in the work.

Reviewed by Evan Arppe.

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