Brush with Fate
Encyclopedia
Brush with Fate was a made-for-TV film debuted on February 2, 2003, on CBS
. It followed the life of an imaginary painting by Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer
as it passes through the hands of various people. The film was based on Girl In Hyacinth Blue, a novel by author Susan Vreeland
, and starred Glenn Close
and Ellen Burstyn
.
The imaginary painting 'Girl in Hyacinth Blue', the principal object in this film, is painted exactly in Vermeer's painting technique by the American master painter Jonathan Janson, author and webmaster of the world-known website about the life and work of Johannes Vermeer "Essential Vermeer" http://essentialvermeer.20m.com/. See his personal report http://essentialvermeer.20m.com/misc/girl_in_hyacinth_blue.htm
In the next story, a man left a university
to take a job working with the machinery used for the dikes. He got interested in a servant girl who was punished by being put in stocks. It is revealed in this story where the baby came from.
The next story was very brief, and in it, a woman, who was unsuccessful in bidding for the painting at an auction, seemed to know more about the painting than the auctioneer. The next story revealed how Vermeer came to paint the girl's picture.
Finally, Cornelia tells us how she came in possession of the painting, and it is perhaps the most interesting story of them all
Tagline: A mystery hidden for generations. Now the truth will finally be revealed.
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
. It followed the life of an imaginary painting by Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer
Johannes Vermeer
Johannes, Jan or Johan Vermeer was a Dutch painter who specialized in exquisite, domestic interior scenes of middle class life. Vermeer was a moderately successful provincial genre painter in his lifetime...
as it passes through the hands of various people. The film was based on Girl In Hyacinth Blue, a novel by author Susan Vreeland
Susan Vreeland
Susan Vreeland is an American authoress. Several of her books deal with the relationship between art and fiction. The Passion of Artemisia is a fictionalised investigation of some aspects of the life of Artemisia Gentileschi.- Works :...
, and starred Glenn Close
Glenn Close
Glenn Close is an American actress and singer of theatre and film, known for her roles as a femme fatale Glenn Close (born March 19, 1947) is an American actress and singer of theatre and film, known for her roles as a femme fatale Glenn Close (born March 19, 1947) is an American actress and...
and Ellen Burstyn
Ellen Burstyn
Ellen Burstyn is a leading American actress of film, stage, and television. Burstyn's career began in theatre during the late 1950s, and over the next ten years she appeared in several films and television series before joining the Actors Studio in 1967...
.
The imaginary painting 'Girl in Hyacinth Blue', the principal object in this film, is painted exactly in Vermeer's painting technique by the American master painter Jonathan Janson, author and webmaster of the world-known website about the life and work of Johannes Vermeer "Essential Vermeer" http://essentialvermeer.20m.com/. See his personal report http://essentialvermeer.20m.com/misc/girl_in_hyacinth_blue.htm
Plot
Richard is a new art teacher at a high school. Cornelia Englebrecht (played by Glenn Close) is a history teacher who invites Richard to see a painting of a young girl at a table, which she believes to be a genuine Vermeer, where she tells him stories, which are portrayed as flashbacks about the people who owned the painting in the past. All of the stories take place in Holland, and the flashbacks happen mostly before the one preceding it. The first story, from the late 1800s, involved a romance and had flashbacks within flashbacks. Another story took place in the early 1700s when a baby was abandoned during a flood after a dike break. The painting accompanied the baby and was intended to be sold for the baby's expenses.In the next story, a man left a university
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
to take a job working with the machinery used for the dikes. He got interested in a servant girl who was punished by being put in stocks. It is revealed in this story where the baby came from.
The next story was very brief, and in it, a woman, who was unsuccessful in bidding for the painting at an auction, seemed to know more about the painting than the auctioneer. The next story revealed how Vermeer came to paint the girl's picture.
Finally, Cornelia tells us how she came in possession of the painting, and it is perhaps the most interesting story of them all
Tagline: A mystery hidden for generations. Now the truth will finally be revealed.
Cast
- Ellen BurstynEllen BurstynEllen Burstyn is a leading American actress of film, stage, and television. Burstyn's career began in theatre during the late 1950s, and over the next ten years she appeared in several films and television series before joining the Actors Studio in 1967...
– Rika - Glenn CloseGlenn CloseGlenn Close is an American actress and singer of theatre and film, known for her roles as a femme fatale Glenn Close (born March 19, 1947) is an American actress and singer of theatre and film, known for her roles as a femme fatale Glenn Close (born March 19, 1947) is an American actress and...
– Cornelia Englebrecht - Thomas GibsonThomas GibsonThomas Ellis Gibson is an American actor who is perhaps best known for his roles as Daniel Nyland in the Medical drama series Chicago Hope, as Greg Montgomery in the comedy series Dharma & Greg, and as Supervisory Special Agent Aaron "Hotch" Hotchner in the highly-popular CBS drama, Criminal...
– Richard - Phyllida LawPhyllida Law-Personal life:Law was born in Glasgow, the daughter of William and Megsie Law, who divorced after World War II. She was married to Eric Thompson from 1957 until his death in 1982. Their two children Emma and Sophie Thompson are both actresses...
– Maria - Kelly MacdonaldKelly MacdonaldKelly Macdonald is a Scottish actress, known for her role in the independent film Trainspotting and mainstream releases such as Nanny McPhee, Gosford Park, Intermission, No Country for Old Men and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2...
– Aletta - Ger Apeldoorn – Man in Black
- Patrick BerginPatrick BerginPatrick Connolly Bergin is an Irish actor and singer. He may be best-known internationally for playing the menacing husband of Julia Roberts' character in the thriller Sleeping with the Enemy and is also known for his role as Irish terrorist Kevin O'Donnell in the film adaption of Patriot Games....
- Kieran BewKieran Bew| website = http://vimeo.com/16285721Kieran Bew is an English actor, known for portraying Avi Gellman in Personal Affairs, and Gary Parr in BBC1's BAFTA award winning The Street.-Background:...
– Adrian - Daniël Boissevain – Sol
- Horace Cohen – Faculty Man
- Jenne Decleir – Young Laurens
- Katja Mira Herders – Tannske
- Marcel Jonker – Willem
- Hugo Konings – Young Man
- Caro Lenssen – Joanna
- Roef Ragas – Stijn
- Thekla ReutenThekla ReutenThekla Simona Gelsomina Reuten is a Dutch actress.Reuten was born in Bussum, Netherlands, the daughter of an Italian mother and a Dutch father. Reuten portrayed Duncan MacLeod's love interest Anna in Highlander: The Source, released in September 2007...
– Saskia - Erik van Beekum – Angry dike worker
- Erwan van Buuren – Fritz
- Laurien Van den Broeck – Magdalena
- Carly Wijs – Faculty Woman