MovieChat Forums > Tim's Vermeer (2014) Discussion > The Mirror in the painting (NOT the Pain...

The Mirror in the painting (NOT the Painting in the mirror!)

posted 10 years ago by Testpattern
6 replies | jump to latest

Maybe it's just me, but I wondered if Vermeer was somehow leaving a subtle clue to his methodology by strategically placing a mirror in the background of his painting to reflect the girl's face, as well as, the black and white diamond pattern on the floor.

This combined reflection could be used to extrapolate both Vermeer's and his device's theoretical positions within the room. The precise angle of the mirror could be determined by the shadows cast on the wall behind it.

Brilliant and, I believe, intentional.

Perhaps this is also why Tim selected this painting in particular to create his "proof of concept" painting in the style of Vermeer.

"If people like you don't learn from what happened to people like me..."-Professor Rohl

[–] Testpattern 10 years ago

..I wondered if Vermeer was somehow leaving a subtle clue to his methodology by strategically placing a mirror in the background of his painting to reflect the girl's face, as well as, the black and white diamond pattern on the floor...

I hadn't looked closely at Tim's Vermeer until I put a link in another thread on this board which showed what I believed to be the two paintings, side-by-side.

My OP was purely speculative, but after looking closely at Tim's painting, you can clearly see Tim's own leg reflected in the mirror of his painting!

IMHO, this substantiates to some degree, my OP because apparently, Tim may have arrived at a similar conclusion whilst he was working.

THIS, I believe, is the tongue-in-cheek "elephant in the room" that Tim reveals he decided to paint. A decision which is dismissed as the result of mild hallucination (or something similar!) as a result of either O2 deprivation or accidental CO2 inhalation or perhaps both.

"If people like you don't learn from what happened to people like me..."-Professor Rohl

[–] cheepnis 9 years ago

Good catch!

[–] xenophile2002 9 years ago

I too wondered if the mirror in the painting might be a clue. Of course it's possible that you and I are just seeing animals in the clouds, but it would be a clever thing for him to do, and if there's one thing we know about Mr. Vermeer, it's that he was clever.

I disagree with you, but I'm pretty sure you're not Hitler.
- Jon Stewart

[–] uvl 9 years ago

Excellent theory. Kudos.

[–] bing-57 9 years ago

> I wondered if Vermeer was somehow leaving a subtle clue to his methodology by strategically placing a mirror in the background of his painting to reflect the girl's face, as well as, the black and white diamond pattern on the floor.

Very unlikely, since it would be impossible to imagine that future scientists might scour the paintings for clues. Heck, I doubt most artists expected their work to last more than a decade or so.

More likely, he added the mirror to impress other artists who had never been able to correctly draw reflections in mirrors. Heck, they could barely get foreground perspectives correct.

--
What Would Jesus Do For A Klondike Bar (WWJDFAKB)?

[–] Jes' Sayin' (6543) 4 years ago

Including a mirror in a painting is a nice way to demonstrate the painter's skill as well as impress the viewer. People often paint landscapes behind a body of water and then the reflection in the water for similar reasons. It doesn't have to mean more than that.