Madrid's Prado Museum has long been home to a wide range of artistic masterpieces and is a must-see for anyone who happens to find themselves in its vicinity. When I studied in Madrid, I visited the Prado on a weekly (sometimes daily) basis! But now you don't have to travel to Spain to appreciate the museum's most famous paintings. The Independent reports on how the Prado has teamed up with Google Earth to create a project that allows users to zoom in on select masterpieces that have been photographed section by section in "mega high resolution" then stitched together digitally. Though this viewing process is hardly as electrifying as looking at the paintings in person, the high resolution of the images allows people to zero in on the most intricate details, which is impossible to do when faced with the paintings in real life."It's a unique vision. In the museum we cannot get this close to a painting; if we did we'd need a three-metre-high ladder to get these views," says Google Spain's Clara Ribera.
As The Independent points out:
This is the first time Google has engaged in this kind of partnership, but they may expand the project to incorporate other paintings and museums depending on how people respond to the Prado initiative.
If you're interested in checking this out for yourself, download Google Earth, activate three-dimensional view and click on Prado Museum.
Treasure hunt for Intelligent Travel readers: Remember the photo that won our 2008 World in Focus contest, with the two people in the Prado dressed as characters from one of the paintings? See if you can find the painting that these royal folks stepped out of.
Photo: Carmen Gonzalez via Flickr
The spectacular images will allow scholars and art lovers to study up close the lines and brushstrokes of each artist, examine the under-drawing, the cracks and imperfections of the varnish, and check the quality of restoration work.Featured paintings include important works by Goya, El Greco, Ribera, Rembrandt, Durer, Raphael, Van der Weyden, Tiepolo, and Titian.
This is the first time Google has engaged in this kind of partnership, but they may expand the project to incorporate other paintings and museums depending on how people respond to the Prado initiative.
If you're interested in checking this out for yourself, download Google Earth, activate three-dimensional view and click on Prado Museum.
Treasure hunt for Intelligent Travel readers: Remember the photo that won our 2008 World in Focus contest, with the two people in the Prado dressed as characters from one of the paintings? See if you can find the painting that these royal folks stepped out of.
Photo: Carmen Gonzalez via Flickr
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This is very interesting. It is amazing what Google Earth can do!
Pretty amazing! I've also spent many hours visiting the Prado, and I just can't have enough.