Did Vermeer use a crown graphic???

[someonenameddavid]

The documentary "Tim's Vermeer", reported on by the BBC, here:
http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20140103-could-anyone-paint-a-vermeer shows at the very end, Tim resting his artwork on a Crown Graphic. the hypothesis is that Vermeer used lenses and mirrors to achieve his stunning pictures, by painting over what he saw assisted by the camera obscura. Not in a million years could I do that. looks like it will be an interesting documentary.

David

 

[CliveC]

The documentary is on Netflix. I really enjoyed it and found it a fascinating process. The amount of detail is insane!

 

[Shac]

Agreed - very interesting documentary (on Netflix). Vermeer wasn't the only artist using optical or other devices in their arsenal of painting techniques (e.g. Albrecht Durer - https://www.google.ca/search?q=dure...e=univ&ei=wSSFVKekJ4-sogTwkYHQCw&ved=0CBwQsAQ

 

[Archlich]

John Berger: If you ever see someone's character appear left handed, he was most likely using camera obscura.

 

[JoeV]

Tim's method differs from other proposed historic optical aids. Instead of suggesting a camera obscura with lens was used to cast an optical image upon a canvas, (which, according to Davis Hockney, would have more likely used concave mirrors than lenses), his uses a simple flat mirror, held above the canvas as a sort of optical comparator. The mirror is small, only looking at a small portion of the scene. The idea is that he views the scene at the edge of the mirror and compares it against what he's painted of that same part of the scene on the canvas, just on the other side of that same edge. The artist simply has to match tones and colors between the image in the mirror and the rendition on canvas.

This proposed method has the advantage of needing only a very simple, inexpensive device, and works well in realistic, subdued light; whereas a camera obscura would require intensities of illumination brighter than what artificial light sources of the day could provide.

It's also a bit similar to the camera lucida, in that the mirror is mounted in a very similar position above the canvas, but uses a much simpler optical principle.

The documentary is worth watching, IMO.

~Joe

 

[rodinal]

Look for "The secret Knowledge" from David Hockney, published around fourteen years ago. There is a couple of BBC videos too...

 

[Contarama]

They learned all that stuff from Leo I bet... 🙂