Raving About the Google Art Project

How spectacular is the Google Art Project? 


Art historians and art lovers worldwide must be swooning in collective delight. Without physically visiting a museum, one can now explore the most prestigious galleries in the world and admire their resplendent art collections! More than that, select pieces (one painting per gallery as of now) can be viewed not only down to the smallest brushstroke but to microscopic levels. 

I'm thrilled because the National Gallery (London) and the Tate Britain, both of which don't normally allow photographs of their collections, are among the museums included in the Project. 

Now I really have no reason to bring my camera to the museum anymore. It's just hard to break the habit I formed a few years ago, before the best museums put their collections up online (in a language I can comprehend i.e. English) or in some cases, before i discovered they had websites.  When allowed, I take photos because I like looking at the works again and again but don't exactly relish buying a lot of pricey art books. More importantly, the photos later remind me of my own experience and reactions to the piece in the museum.  To be clear, I don't really enjoy taking photos in museums. It feels a bit disrespectful I think that instead of admiring the works, I keep snapping away. However, I find that I get to enjoy the artworks many times over when I'm back home, and that certainly makes up for the cheekiness in taking the photographs in the first place.

Anyway, before all of these are rendered obsolete to me by the Google Art Project, I'm posting some photos I've taken. These are just the ones that jump out at me from my computer screen; not necessarily my favorites but the ones which are clear enough to post.

Giovanni Bellini's Madonna and Child,
the High Museum of Art, Atlanta. 

Carravaggio's Lute Player,
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Degas' La Classe de Danse,
Musee D'Orsay, Paris.

Goya's Manuel Osorio Manrique de Zuniga,
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Matisse's Marguerite Wearing a Hat,
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Picasso's Harlequin,
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. 

Van Gogh's Le Chambre de Van Gogh a Arles,
Musee d'Orsay, Paris. 

Van Gogh's Wheat Field with Cypresses,
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Van Gogh's L'Arlesienne (Madame Ginoux), 
Musee d'Orsay, Paris.
It is said he was so excited to finally have an  Arlesienne
sitting for him that he finished the portrait in about an hour,
although he added a parasol and gloves later on. 

Van Gogh's L'Arlesienne Madame Joseph
Michel Ginoux,Metropolitan Museum, New York.
This is the supposedly more "compelling" version
of the summarily executed portrait hanging in the 
Musee d'Orsay. 

Have a look at Google's art database, friends. But first, prepare to be blown away!