Google Art Project

Have you tried Google Art Project? If the answer is no, then you really should!

"Explore museums from around the world, discover and view hundreds of artworks at incredible zoom levels, and even create and share your own collection of masterpieces."

This Art Project will not only give you the opportunity to view thousand  high resolution artworks online in extraordinary detail (thanks to Picasa and App Engine), but you will also be able to "visit" the museums in 360° view (thanks to Google Street View technology).

Using a a specially designed Street View trolley, 360 degree images were taken of selected galleries, and in each museum, some artworks have been photographed at high resolution (7-14 billion pixels in depth) thus enabling viewers to zoom on small details. 

This "behind the scenes" video shows how the "Street View" shots were taken:

It is also possible to bookmark and comment on teach painting, and “create your own art collection by saving your favorite images into a personal gallery. Of course, your "collection"can then be shared with friends.

Moroever, museums are providing many other images to complete the gallery, and offering links to information and video on the subjects. For now the following museums are included in the project:

- Alte Nationalgalerie, Berlin - Germany
- 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