In a sentenceA man copying a painting should not be this absorbing, or make our unfinished shelves quite so embarrassing
Tim Jenison wants to understand how Johannes Vermeer made paintings with such a photographic quality. He sets out to recreate The Music Lesson, turning a question about technique into a practical experiment in painting. Tim Jenison, Penn Jillette and David Hockney appear as themselves as the documentary follows his investigation into the possible connections between art and technology. Making a replica requires more than finding a plausible explanation, however. He has to commit to the painstaking work of painting it, testing his ideas against the demands of the image.
Teller’s documentary makes the painstaking business of copying a painting surprisingly engaging. Tim Jenison’s patience and dry humour carry it, though his theory about Vermeer deserves tougher questions than the film asks.
Tim’s Vermeer is an engaging documentary about a man willing to do an unreasonable amount of work to test an idea. Tim Jenison wants to understand how Vermeer painted, and attempts a recreation of The Music Lesson as a way of finding out. Teller gives that undertaking enough attention for the effort itself to become interesting. We would happily recommend it to anyone curious about how pictures are made, provided they can tolerate a shortage of scepticism.
Tim Jenison’s dry humour helps, because painstaking reconstruction could easily make for a punishing evening. His enthusiasm makes the technical questions approachable, and he gives us a reason to care about the next stage of work without demanding that we already care about Vermeer. We were unexpectedly moved by his persistence as the painting became arduous. The sheer willingness to keep going gives the film a human subject beyond the question of how accurately an image can be reproduced.
Shane F. Kelly’s cinematography serves the investigation by making the painting process something we can examine, and the plain usefulness of that is worth appreciating. Patrick Sheffield’s editing keeps the technical material manageable without making the undertaking seem easy. The balance slips as the work continues, and the later stretch drags despite the 80-minute running time. Repetition helps us appreciate the patience involved, but we do not need quite so much help.
Conrad Pope’s music provides amiable company, though it is the humour that does most to relieve the grind. David Hockney’s appearance brings another welcome touch of wit to a film that might otherwise become too solemn about its experiment. Penn Jillette and Teller share the writing credit, and the explanations remain accessible even when the subject threatens to become specialised. There is pleasure in understanding what Tim Jenison is trying to do and then watching how much work it requires.
The weakness is how little resistance the central theory meets. Teller makes the pursuit easy to enjoy, but leaves us wanting somebody to ask harder questions about what this recreation can establish about Vermeer’s methods. What would count against the explanation? We need more evidence before drawing conclusions about how the original was painted, however much we admire the person attempting to reproduce it. The film allows our affection for Tim Jenison to do too much of the persuading.
The film makes a useful case for technology as part of artistic work. Seeing how much patience a proposed technique demands makes copying seem sufficiently daunting, before anyone has to decide what to paint. That is a worthwhile subject for an art documentary, even one that leaves the appeal of the original picture underexplored. We wanted more about The Music Lesson itself, but the attention paid to making a replica has value.
Watch it with someone who likes making things and is prepared to argue afterwards. There is plenty here to enjoy without accepting every implication of the experiment. Anyone tempted to try something similar may want to clear more than an evening.
Most critics find Tim’s Vermeer an engaging, often funny account of Tim Jenison’s attempt to recreate a Vermeer painting. Praise centres on his patience, inventiveness and dry humour, and on filmmaking that makes painstaking technical work accessible. The reviews repeatedly find pleasure in watching the experiment develop, with several also finding it unexpectedly moving. For the more enthusiastic critics, its exploration of art and technology deepens appreciation of the skill involved rather than explaining away the achievement.
The reservations concern how much the experiment proves, and how closely the film examines its own claims. Some critics find the larger questions about Vermeer unanswered; others note that the reconstruction eventually loses momentum. The spread is fairly wide, though clearly weighted towards approval. IndieWire questions the lack of a critical voice, while The New Yorker offers the sharpest dissent, finding that a fascinating process becomes a mechanically presented stunt.
Sharkey presents the documentary as extraordinary. Its fascinating focus is Tim Jenison’s attempt to recreate a Johannes Vermeer painting.
Read the full review →Kohn finds the documentary surface-deep but engaging, with Jenison’s creative quest making the journey worthwhile. He praises Jenison’s infectious enthusiasm while faulting the film for lacking a critical voice on its central theory.
Read the full review →The critic finds the documentary bizarre, moving and witty, and says it makes viewers reconsider Vermeer’s work. They praise its generous spirit and its exploration of creativity, while singling out Jenison’s detailed recreation of The Music Lesson.
Read the full review →McCarthy finds the documentary entertaining and accessible, and sees Jenison’s experiment as making Vermeer’s methods more understandable without diminishing his achievement. He particularly praises the remarkable likeness Jenison creates and the film’s engaging exploration of art and technology.
Read the full review →Debruge finds the documentary an exceptionally entertaining, lean account of Jenison’s obsessive experiment. He praises its lively presentation of the painstaking recreation, while noting that it leaves the larger questions about art and Vermeer largely unresolved.
Read the full review →Ebiri finds the documentary charming and thoughtful, concluding that its attempt to demystify art leaves viewers with even greater awe. He praises its exploration of how technology and artistic inspiration can work together.
Read the full review →
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