Tim's Vermeer

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Cast & Crew

Tim Jenison

Self

Teller

Director

Penn Jillette

Producer

Farley Ziegler

Producer

Peter Adam Golden

Executive Producer

Glenn S. Alai

Executive Producer

Tim Jenison

Executive Producer

Teller

Executive Producer

Conrad Pope

Original Music

Shane F. Kelly

Cinematographer

Patrick Sheffield

Film Editing

Teller

Screenwriter

Penn Jillette

Screenwriter

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News & Interviews for Tim's Vermeer

Critics Consensus: That Awkward Moment When Your Movie is Rotten

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Critic Reviews for Tim's Vermeer

Audience Reviews for Tim's Vermeer

• Jul 16, 2014

  I was particularly interested in this documentary as an Historian of Art. It tells us the story of the inventor Tim Jenison's efforts to duplicate the painting techniques of Johannes Vermeer, in order to test his theory that Vermeer painted with the help of optical devices. Directed by Teller and written by Penn Jillette and Teller this was an entertaining and profound film in equal measure. Tim choose Vermeer as seemingly esoteric subject and he asks fascinating questions about the way this painter reached the fame, answering them himself through a project of art and obsession. There is a huge element of self-indulgence and vanity in this expensive project but I enjoyed Tim's way of thinking and finding ways to prove his theory that one of the most famous painters in the world could be just a hard worker who knew how to use the technology of the time! Interesting view with lots of substance delivered through the 1 hour and 20 minutes. If you are interested in art, check it out. You can learn a lot!
  

  Super Reviewer
• Mar 22, 2014

  Tim's Vermeer is the study of how a non-artist could construct a masterpiece. For most of the film we watch as Tim attempts to copy The Music Lesson. His pursuit occurs over several months. Only a very rich man with deep pockets could possibly endeavor such a colossal undertaking of time and money. At times the experiment is almost like watching paint dry, and the chronicle even acknowledges this. Yet the results are astonishing nevertheless. One might suggest that his findings negate Vermeer's accomplishments. I found quite the opposite. Assuming this is how Vermeer worked, it re-enforces how difficult it was to create his compositions. Tim's Vermeer is something I'd recommend to anyone with an appreciation for Baroque painting. It probably plays more like a special on public television than as a theatrical movie, but as far as this art history buff is concerned, I was transfixed. fastfilmreviews.com
  

  Super Reviewer
• Mar 06, 2014

  As an inventor and special effects innovator, Tim Jenison probably deserves having a documentary made about him just on those criteria alone. But it is his investigation into 17th century painter Johannes Vermeer who was renowned for photographic like realism in his paintings that is of interest in the fascinating and entertaining documentary "Tim's Vermeer" from Penn & Teller. Due to not wanting contemporaries stealing ideas from him(and probably also to mess with future art historians), Vermeer left behind no notes on his methods. However, certain art historians have theorized that he created his famous paintings with mirrors, or more precisely a camera obscura. That's where Tim Jenison comes into the picture and the documentary by using his engineering expertise to recreate the conditions necessary, first on a copy of a modern photograph of his father-in-law(signed with a black felt tip pen, no less), followed by a reconstruction of one of Vermeer's paintings with a little help from some of the most patient family imaginable.(To be honest, I do suspect there was a little horsetrading involved.) Not only does all of which not take away from the magic of the paintings, but actually puts us all in awe of the painstaking tasks it took to create such great art. This was at a time when Vermeer had to create all of the geometry of his setup from scratch.
  

  Super Reviewer
• Feb 17, 2014

  'Tim's Vermeer'. One man's curiosity and capacity for obsession detailed in a painstakingly entertaining way. Who says art and technology are at opposite ends of the spectrum? Seeing the months it took, I really what drove Vermeer, or what drove anyone of that era to create paintings like they did?
  

  Super Reviewer