Inspired by David Hockney's book about technical innovations in 17th century painting, a maverick American IT entrepreneur invents (or re-invents) a tilted mirror device to copy images and scenes. Tim Jenison suspects the renowned Dutch master Vermeer utilized this method in his paintings, and decides to replicate one of the artist's major works to prove his point. He builds a simulacrum of Vermeer's 'Music Lesson' interior, and after many months of painstaking labor, this untrained amateur manages to produce a respectable copy of the masterpiece.
Jenison makes a good case for the disputed theory that Vermeer used mechanical aids, but doesn't really prove anything. The Dutch artist's work possesses unique qualities that defy analysis, and any experienced painter will recognize Tim's device harnessed to his current level of expertise cannot match Vermeer's deft brushwork and luminous light effects. The film makes a number of interesting points even though a fair amount of nonsense is talked about painting - principally by Hockney who has serious limitations as an artist.
Jenison makes a good case for the disputed theory that Vermeer used mechanical aids, but doesn't really prove anything. The Dutch artist's work possesses unique qualities that defy analysis, and any experienced painter will recognize Tim's device harnessed to his current level of expertise cannot match Vermeer's deft brushwork and luminous light effects. The film makes a number of interesting points even though a fair amount of nonsense is talked about painting - principally by Hockney who has serious limitations as an artist.