> As you may know, Vermeers are so few and far between that it's entirely possible to see every one (~36) if you're able to travel the world.
As someone has actually done and made a website about:
As someone has actually done and made a website about:
A neat but sorta terrible documentary. The central claim is that Vermeer absolutely must have used a camera lucida because his detail would otherwise be impossible. In particular I remember the 'expert' claiming that a certain smooth gradation was impossible to paint without optical tools. Maybe for a modernist like Hockney, but there are painters with academic training who achieve that kind of work without optical tools.
I'm not saying Vermeer didn't experiment with such tools, but the claims to their criticality in his process are a joke.
If you plan ahead and time your visit right you too can see it in person.