Let’s all Google to the Art Museum!
My family has been planning a trip to San Diego, and while researching hotels I discovered that GoogleMaps Street View will let me virtually walk through the San Diego Zoo. Friggin’ cool.
But what if I wanted to wanted a virtual tour inside cool landmarks, like art museums, rather than look at it from the street? You are in luck, my friends. Our Google Overlords have announced a new feature: the Google Art Project.
Basically, what Google has done is take their street view cameras into 17 of the world’s greatest museums, including The Metropolitan Museum of Art and MoMA in New York, The State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Tate Britain & The National Gallery in London, Museo Reina Sofia in Madrid, the Uffizi Gallery in Florence and Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.
Just like with street view, you can virtually walk through these museums, and then zoom in on a work of art to study it in high detail.
There are other features, such as saving works of art into your own private virtual gallery. Overall it looks really cool for an art buff like me, and I’m probably going to be playing with it for most of the day. It’s also a terrific way to visit museums you’d otherwise never get a chance to visit. Need to get the Louvre on that list, Google. Check it out here.
That’s pretty neat, actually. I went to the Van Gogh Museum (though they pronounced it Van Ch-oh, like they had a wad a phlegm in the back of their throat) when I was rather young. I’ll have to pass that link on to my dad, he’ll probably remember the place better than I. Nice find, M.Geek!