Teller, the shorter and silent half of the popular magic act duo Penn & Teller, is not commonly associated with Dutch Masters.
However, the Vegas entertainer is diving deep into one of art history's great mysteries in "Tim's Vermeer," a new documentary that Sony Pictures Classics announced Monday it has acquired worldwide rights to distribute.
The film, which Teller directs, focuses on a Texas inventor named Tim Jenison who tries to figure out how 17th century painter Johannes Vermeer created such realistic looking masterpieces as "Girl With a Pearl Earring" and "View of Delft" roughly 150 years before photography was invented.
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The film follows Jenison as he travels to Holland to retrace the master's steps and interviews the likes of artist David Hockney to come up with his own conclusions about Vermeer's method.
The film is produced by Teller’s stage partner Penn Jillette and Farley Ziegler.
"Having 'Sony Pictures Classics' as the first words on the screen means it's more than just a couple of Vegas magicians and an eccentric inventor in his garage — now, it's a real film that will change the history of art," Jillete said in a statement.
"Tim's Vermeer" will be released in 2014.