INTRO
G:\Press\FEATURES group\PHOTOS\Google Art\guitar_player.png
Alt: Painting of a man in a window playing the guitar as a woman listens (Almeida Júnior)
Credit: Almeida Júnior
Caption: Most Americans will not experience Brazilian street graffiti, South African rock art and French impressionism personally — but Google is enabling them to do so virtually. The Google Art Project expanded its online collection in April 2012 to include 30,000 artworks from 151 museums across 40 countries.
Brazilian painter Almeida Júnior’s realist depiction of a guitar player, seen here, is one of those recently added pieces.
The Guitar Player, 1899
By Almeida Júnior
Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo, Brazil
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G:\Press\FEATURES group\PHOTOS\Google Art\van_gogh.png
Alt: Painting of a bedroom with two chairs and a table (Vincent van Gogh)
Credit: Vincent van Gogh
Caption: Applying Google Earth and Street View technology, the project attempts to break down traditional barriers of viewing artwork in a gallery. It enables site visitors to examine some images at a resolution of 1 billion pixels — or 1,000 times the resolution of a 1 megapixel camera. Students can zoom in to examine the brushstrokes of different eras and styles, like those of Dutch post-impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh, whose painting Bedroom in Arles is shown here.
Van Gogh's Bedroom in Arles, 1889
By Vincent van Gogh
Musée d’Orsay, France
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G:\Press\FEATURES group\PHOTOS\Google Art\Isdanga.png
Alt: Portrait of an African woman with elaborate necklace (Evelyn Joyce McCrea)
Credit: Evelyn Joyce McCrea
Caption: By combining new technology with the museums’ expertise, the project helps a global audience learn the context of the work. For example, online visitors can browse the South African National Gallery collection to see this Evelyn Joyce McCrea painting of a woman wearing a necklace, then look through the museum’s artifacts to see a collar that a South African actually wore.
Isidanga, c. 1935–1936
By Evelyn Joyce McCrea
South African National Gallery, South Africa
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G:\Press\FEATURES group\PHOTOS\Google Art\east_Frieze.png
Alt: Marble relief of Greek gods Poseidon, Apollo and Aphrodite (Pheidias' Workshop)
Credit: Pheidias' Workshop
Caption: From narrated videos and audio guides to educational material and viewing notes, the online project offers many ways visitors can enrich their understanding of the history and culture behind the artworks. Viewing notes for this marble relief indicate the piece illustrates Poseidon, Apollo and Aphrodite and is part of a Parthenon series on display at multiple museums.
Detail of the East Frieze (Block VI), 442–438 B.C.
By Pheidias' Workshop
Acropolis Museum, Greece
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G:\Press\FEATURES group\PHOTOS\Google Art\Mamluk_Blue_Enamelled_Glass_Vase2.jpg
Alt: Image of a fluted vase with ornate decoration (Unknown, Syria)
Credit: Unknown, Syria
Caption: The Google Art Project incorporates a variety of art media. Beyond paintings and photographs, the project includes architecture, sculptures and artifacts like this Mamluk vase dating back to the 13th century.
Mamluk Blue Enamelled Glass Vase, 1275–1300
By Unknown, Syria
The Museum of Islamic Art, Qatar
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G:\Press\FEATURES group\PHOTOS\Google Art\Swami Haridasa.png
Alt: Painting of a man playing the tambura while two other men visit him (Unknown)
Credit: Unknown
Caption: Online visitors can explore the collection by medium or museum, artist or era, and even location. For example, visitors might enjoy this vibrant painting of poet and musician Swami Haridasa by searching for collections in India.
Swami Haridasa with Tansen and Akbar at Vrindavana, 1700 A.D.–1760 A.D.
By Unknown
National Museum, India
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G:\Press\FEATURES group\PHOTOS\Google Art\easel_and_radio.png
Alt: Surreal painting of radio sitting on a slanted table attached to an easel (Hyun Mi Yoo)
Credit: Hyun Mi Yoo
Caption: Participating museums hope the Google Art Project will increase public interest and compel more people to see the art in person. The project is an interesting way to see interesting art. This 2009 combination of photography and painting is one of the project’s more recent pieces. But some contemporary canvases remain unavailable to Google because of copyright laws. Google says it hopes to broaden its collection and further innovate in its presentation to make more art accessible to more people.
Composition – Easel and Radio, 2009
By Hyun Mi Yoo
Korean Art Museum Association, South Korea