Google’s latest creation Art Project is the greatest thing to happen since sliced bread for art historians, critics, laymen, what have you.  Think of the project as Google Earth let loose inside a world class museum.  With the aid of sophisticated high definition cameras, Art Project tours seventeen museums top to bottom dissecting the entire floor plan of the space in a mode called Street View.  With Artwork View users can sift through the available images and zoom all the way into the minutiae of the art works revealing every brush stroke, crack, and square inch.  The Uffizi is one of the museums featured in the project and it’s particularly wonderful because no photography is permitted inside, very different from the Louvre.  While I have purchased the principal books documenting the collection, it’s wonderful to be view Cimabue’s “Maesta of Santa Trinita,” one of the first pieces encountered at the Uffizi, in an uninterrupted plane of view with the ability to dissect the panel and discover new subtleties.  The final feature of the Art Project is the option to create an Artwork Collection, a saved slide show of selected works.  Art Project is a fantastic way to survey a museum bef0re actually visiting it (like the Tate and the State Hermitage) and brush up on your art history.  The tantalizing halls of art will surely motivate you to save every penny and travel abroad.  Be sure to check out Van Gogh’s “Bedroom” and Chris Ofili’s “No Woman, No Cry.”

The Museum’s included in Art Project are:

  • Alte Nationalgalerie, Berlin – Germany
  • Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian, Washington DC – USA
  • The Frick Collection, NYC – USA
  • Gemäldegalerie, Berlin – Germany
  • The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC – USA
  • MoMA, The Museum of Modern Art, NYC – USA
  • Museo Reina Sofia, Madrid – Spain
  • Museo Thyssen – Bornemisza, Madrid – Spain
  • Museum Kampa, Prague – Czech Republic
  • National Gallery, London – UK
  • Palace of Versailles – France
  • Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam – The Netherlands
  • The State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg – Russia
  • State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow – Russia
  • Tate Britain, London – UK
  • Uffizi Gallery, Florence – Italy
  • Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam – The Netherlands

Thank you, Google!