Tim's Vermeer

2013 • 79 minutes
4.5
461 reviews
90%
Tomatometer
PG-13
Rating
Eligible
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About this movie

Tim's Vermeer, directed by Teller of Penn & Teller fame. Produced by Teller's stage partner Penn Jillette and Farley Ziegler, the film follows Tim Jenison, a Texas based inventor, as he attempts to solve one of the greatest mysteries in all of art: How did 17th century Dutch Master Johannes Vermeer ('Girl with a Pearl Earring') manage to paint so photo-realistically, 150 years before the invention of photography? Jenison's epic research project ultimately succeeds as he uses 17th century technology -- lenses and mirrors -- to develop a technique that might have been used by Vermeer, supporting a theory as extraordinary as what he discovers. Spanning a decade, Jenison's adventure takes him to Delft, Holland, where Vermeer painted his masterpieces; on a pilgrimage to the North coast of Yorkshire to meet artist David Hockney; and eventually even to Buckingham Palace, to see the Queen's Vermeer.
Rating
PG-13

Ratings and reviews

4.5
461 reviews
Clay Robbins
July 22, 2014
I was thinking this film would be about Vermeer, but it is more about how Tim truly found a potential way that Vermeer used to paint. While there will never be any court of law facts to prove how Vermeer actually did it ... this film showed a plausible way as to how he MIGHT have done it. I found it fascinating
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Mark Potter
August 17, 2018
An obsessive man perseveres to realize a life-long dream. A well-crafted film captures the effort and genius of the modern wizard and the old. If insight, revelation and craftsmanship entertain you then this experience will be pure pleasure.
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Todd Mitchell
June 14, 2014
Probably the most interesting documentary I've ever watched. Can't recommend this enough. I'm by no means an art enthusiast, but this grabbed me within the first five minutes.
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