Tim's Vermeer (2013)

Documentary feature following the quest of Texan inventor Tim Jenison, to uncover the methods used by 17th century Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer in his art. Vermeer is most famous for his painting 'Girl With a Pearl Earring', and has puzzled many analysts with his ability to achieve a photo-realistic effect in his work. Jenison sets out to find an answer to the mystery - a quest that takes him to Delft in the Netherlands, where Vermeer produced his work; Yorkshire, in England, to talk to influential English artist David Hockney; and to Buckingham Palace, to view a Vermeer painting owned by the royal family.

Watching this film is a virtual art course in itself. Tim Jenison takes us on a search for the secrets of Dutch artist Vermeer's tremendous use of light in his art work. He researches early applications of the so called camera obscura and the use of lenses. He comes up with a possible theory of how Vermeer painted and then gets to work confirming his theory. His first test is a simple mirror reflecting an object onto a canvas. He experiments with this and confirms his thesis. He then decides to apply his model to recreating one of Vermeer's masterpieces. The outcome is sensational. The movie shows all the various constructional aspects, which as an engineer I really love. I kept wanting to get up out of my seat and start building a similar model. The detail which he went to in order to recreate the scene of the painting was astounding.

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