There’s a recent film called “Tim’s Vermeer” about an inventor (Tim Jenison) on a mission to recreate a Vermeer painting, using the set-up and optical aids that Vermeer may well have used. It’s by all accounts a fascinating and entertaining documentary. I’ve not seen it…yet!
Artists invariably use the tools available and will innovate strongly to get a result. I sometimes quip that if Michelangelo had had access to a projector, he would surely have shone his drawings at the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. The general opinion today is that the masters sought to keep their methods secret …to protect the magic…their value… but I suspect the secrets were more “open source” than we might assume.
Vermeer set many of his paintings in the same room… perhaps to facilitate use of his optical set-up. Through this, he was then free (with or without forethought) to focus on the human stories in his subjects …..with an innovative clarity in composition and design …perhaps more than anyone before …or for a long time afterwards.
His images seem strangely modern. This sparse, unassuming master created timeless human stories, with ringing silence and poignancy. He affects us profoundly with the quiet power of his paintings.
At Saturday’s workshop, 15 November, we explore Vermeer as our influence – details are on the courses page of my website.