Tim Jenison brushes up on conspiracy theory as he tries to recreate famous artist’s work

TIM’S Vermeer: Can a man who has never picked up a brush before recreate the works of a master? And did that famous artist really “paint” at all?

A visitor takes a picture of the "Girl with a Pearl" artwork by painter Johannes Vermeer during a press preview at the renovated Mauritshuis museum in the Hague, the Netherlands, on June 20, 2014. The museum will officially re-open to the public on June 27 after two years of renovations. AFP PHOTO / ANP / LEX VAN LIESHOUT ***Netherlands out*** == RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE, MANDATORY CREDIT OF THE ARTIST, TO ILLUSTRATE THE EVENT AS SPECIFIED IN THE CAPTIONS ==

A LIVELY doco that is short, sharp and straight to the point, Tim’s Vermeer is a fascinating delight from go to whoa.

This is the intriguing story of American tech guru Tim Jenison, who channels an obsession with the great Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer into a strange and revealing experiment.

Would there be a way — using only 17th century equipment — for Jenison to teach himself to paint in the same unique photorealistic style as Vermeer?

Tim Jenison, right, demonstrates his first painting experiment in <i>Tim's Vermeer</i>.

The answer will surprise one and all, particularly when it is revealed Jenison has never picked up a brush in his life.

Want another surprise? The doco’s musings that Vermeer might not have “painted” his masterpieces in the traditional sense of the word could make you reconsider your view of art as a whole.

Director Teller borrows Tim Jenison's surgical loupes to see a magnified view of the Vermeers at the Rijksmuseum.

The conspiracy theory runs something like this: almost two centuries before photography was invented, Vermeer may have been running a sophisticated system of mirrors, lenses and projections to capture light and colour in a radical new way.

An example of Johannes Vermeer’s work, The Love Letter, was displayed in Australia as part of an exhibition of the Dutch Masters.

Along with the likes of famous artist David Hockney (who features prominently here), Jenison finds himself convinced Vermeer was working in a field that stepped well over the traditional boundaries of painting as it was (and still is) known.

To prove his point, Jenison spends well over a year preparing to recreate one of Vermeer’s most complex and celebrated works, The Music Lesson.

The lengths to which Jenison goes to ensure he is working with the same tools, limitations and liberties that were available to Vermeer are nothing short of gobsmacking.

At one point, Jenison spends three months learning all about the woodwork of Vermeer’s day so he can build exact replicas of the furniture that appears in The Music Lesson.

He even manufactures the glass that Vermeer might have used to pull off his “best tricks of the light”.

Tim’s Vermeer (M)

Director: Teller (Play Dead)

Starring: Tim Jenison, Penn Jillette, David Hockney

Verdict: Three-and-a-half stars. Art imitates life imitating an artist

A visitor takes a picture of the Girl with a Pearl by Johannes Vermeer at the Mauritshuis museum in The Hague, which reopened in June after a two-year closure for renovations.

Originally published as Tim Jenison brushes up on conspiracy theory as he tries to recreate famous artist’s work