Google Art Project digitizes art and brings it to your home

Google’s new cultural project allows anyone to see works of art from home – online and in high definition. Thanks to Street View’s technology, Picasa and App Engine you’ll be able to virtually visit 17 amazing museums, also allowing you to create your own collection.

Google Art Project uses App Engine and Picasa to look for high-resolution scanned images of over 1,000 works of art from all around the world created by more than 400 renowned  artists. Some of them will be featured in “super high-definition”, allowing the user to see every line and detail.

Thanks to Street View the system then takes the viewer to its original location in order to make the visit as if you were there. The mouse is enough to move through the hallways and rooms. All you need to do after that is click on the button placed in front of each painting to explore them in detail.