Today, February 1st, Google unveils a project that will give you access to thousands of artworks online in “extraordinary detail.” The project is simply called Google Art Project, but the results are nothing less than stunning.
Working with 17 art museums over the last 18 months, Google has built an online collection of thousands of artworks and a selection of super high resolution or ‘gigapixel’ images. They partnered with Altes Nationalgalerie, The Freer Gallery of Art Smithsonian, National Gallery (London), The Frick Collection, Gemäldegalerie, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, MoMA, Museo Reina Sofia, Museo Thyseen – Bornemisza, Museum Kampa, Palace of Versailles, Rijksmuseum, The State Hermitage Museum, State Tretyakov Gallery, Tate, and Uffizi and Van Gogh Museum.
Google worked closely with the museums in finding the best works to feature, the best collections to display, and even what angles to capture them from. The Google Art Project includes everything from Botticelli’s ‘Birth of Venus’ to Chris Ofili’s ‘No Woman, No Cry.’
A specially designed Street View ‘trolley’ took 360 degree images of the interior of selected galleries which were then stitched together, enabling smooth navigation of over 385 rooms within the museums. The gallery interiors can also be explored directly from within Street View in Google Maps.
Each of the 17 museums also chose a single artwork to be featured in super high resolution or ‘gigapixel’ format. These images contain about 7 billion pixels, enabling the viewer to study details of the brushwork and patina beyond that possible with the naked eye. Amazing stuff.
‘This initiative started as a ’20% project’ by a group of Googlers passionate about making art more accessible online. Together with our museum partners around the world we have created what we hope will be a fascinating resource for art-lovers, students and casual museum goers alike – inspiring them to one day visit the real thing.’ — Amit Sood, Head of Art Project, Google
Check out all the fancy artwork at www.googleartproject.com and watch the video here for a behind-the-scenes look at the project. There is also a YouTube channel.
via Engadget