VIEWS ON VERMEER - 12 Short Stories

A documentary by Hans Pool and Koos de Wilt

Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675) left us a small oeuvre of only 36 paintings. Internationally, the power of his work is now more profound than ever. Blockbuster exhibitions, the novel and movie ‘Girl with a pearl earring’ caught a broad audience. Millions are touched by his work. What do we see in Vermeer that makes him so contemporary? The dignity of his painted ladies, the cinematic and photographic character of his images, the psychological impact, the serenity or apparent glimpse in our own everyday life? Influential contemporary artists, photographers and opinion leaders unravel the extraordinary and mysterious impact of this 17th century master in our day and age.

Produced in co-production with AVRO, and supported by the CoBO fund and the Dutch Cultural Media Fund.

With: Tom Hunter, Alain de Botton, Walter Liedtke, Otto Naumann, Thomas Kaplan, Chuck Close, Philip Steadman, Peter Webber, Erwin Olaf, Joel Meyerowitz, Lawrence Wechsler, Tracy Chevalier, Steve McCurry, Arthur K. Wheelock, Jonathan Janson, Philip-Lorca diCorcia, Geoffrey Batchen.

Official Selection IDFA Amsterdam 2009 and FIFA Montreal, OXDOX, Gdansk Docfilm Festival, HotDocs Toronto, DocAVIV, Melbourne IFF 2010.