The acclaimed new documentary Tim’s Vermeer was directed by Teller, the silent half of the magician duo Penn & Teller, so it was perhaps natural that they would be up to their old tricks in the film, currently playing in select theaters.
Tim’s Vermeer tells the story of technology entrepreneur Tim Jenison, who attempts to prove his theory that famed Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer’s photo-realistic paintings (did you ever see The Girl with the Pearl Earring?) were made using a “camera obscura,” photographic technology over 150 years before the invention of the photograph.
In this CraveOnline Exclusive clip from Tim’s Vermeer, Penn & Teller attempt to get Tim Jenison an audience with one of Vermeer’s paintings, but are rebuked by the Queen of England. Penn & Teller are just about go on a tirade against Queen Elizabeth II when something happens.
Find out what it is, then see Tim’s Vermeer in theaters.
From the Press Release:
Tim Jenison, a Texas based inventor, attempts to solve one of the greatest mysteries in all art: How did 17th century Dutch Master Johannes Vermeer (“Girl with a Pearl Earring”) manage to paint so photo-realistically — 150 years before the invention of photography? The epic research project Jenison embarks on to test his theory is as extraordinary as what he discovers.
Spanning eight years, Jenison’s adventure takes him to Delft, Holland, where Vermeer painted his masterpieces, on a pilgrimage to the North coast of Yorkshire to meet artist David Hockney, and even to Buckingham Palace to see a Vermeer masterpiece in the collection of the Queen.
