Inspiration Monday: Google Art Project

Starry Night by Van Gogh

Have you heard of the Google Art Project? It is a massive collaboration between Google and some of the foremost museums in the world to make accessible (to all) the wealth of artwork presented in the museums.  Via the website, www.googleartproject.com, you are able to choose a museum and virtually walk around  various galleries and zoom in on the masterpieces. The high resolution images are so clear that you can actually see the brush strokes and even cracks in the paint. If you expand the panel, you will find details on the painting you are viewing.

Hall of Mirrors

Since I truly believe that art inspires art, the Google Art Project is a treasure-trove of inspiration for me. If you have read some of my previous blogs, you probably know that I have an affinity for Paris. When I visit, I like to make a side trip to the Palace of Versailles (a royal chateau in the Ile-de-France region). I visit Versailles to be inspired, awe-struck, and energized to create my designs. 

The Coronation of the Emperor and Empress

Much to my delight, I no longer need to be in France to be inspired by Versailles as the Google Art Project has mapped 16 rooms, including the devastatingly beautiful Hall of Mirrors. Within each room, there are numerous paintings you can zoom in on such as The Coronation of the Emperor and Empress, Marie-Antoinette de Lorraine-Habsbourg, Queen of France, and her children, and 33 other remarkable paintings. 

National Gallery

In addition to the Palace of Versailles, the Google Art Project also features these museums: Museo Thyssen - Bornemisza (Madrid), The State Hermitage Museum (St. Petersburg), The State Tretyakov Gallery (Moscow), Van Gogh Museum (Amsterdam), The Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City), MoMA, The Museum of Modern Art (New York City), National Gallery (London), Museum Kampa (Prague), Gemaldegalerie (Berlin), Museo Reina Sofia (Madrid), Alte Nationalgalerie (Berlin), Uffizi Gallery (Florence), Rijksmuseum (Amsterdam), Tate Britain (London), The Frick Collection (New York City), and the Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian (Washington, DC). From these museums, you can view over a thousand paintings. The project is ongoing and more museums and paintings are still being added. 

View of the Grand Canal 

What I find particularly appealing about the Google Art Project is that you can enjoy it anytime of the day, anywhere. As artists, we all have those days when we just need something to spark our creativity. So sitting in your pajamas, looking for inspiration, you can virtually visit Florence's Uffizi Gallery and study Canaletto's View of the Grand Canal or Botticelli's Birth of Venus. Amazing! 

I hope you have as much fun exploring these fantastic museums and their works as I did. Enjoy! 

- Julie