The whole idea is to be able to view Museums from around the world. I guess this is apart of Google's quest to digitize the world. I personally see this as a good thing because if there were ever a fire or natural disaster of some type that destroyed the valuable items in the museums then at least there would be evidence of great works still available. That wouldn't change the fact that if something terrible were to happen to these works of art, they can never be replaced. However, with the direction that society has gone with technology and how we experience the world, this makes sense. I am sure that nothing will ever be able to replace that actual feeling and experience of seeing art in real life and real time. Think of how this is a benefit though. There are many children and adults who spend countless hours in front of computers and television sets mindlessly doing nothing. Give those people a chance to visit a museum instead of a chat room or a pornography site and perhaps they will learn something. This project is opening a door for education to the masses. I believe it is wonderful, to an extent. I don't know if I will be able to visit all the museums of the world but if they were all on Google I could browse their collections at leisure before starting a work day or going to bed at night.
Check it out here:
http://www.googleartproject.com/
My first time visiting this site I looked around what they had for the Tate Britain. This is what I found:
Satan Smiting Job with Sore Boils
Around 1826
William Blake
Pen and ink and tempera on mahoganyHeight : 326.00 cm
Width : 432.00 cm
Located in: Art and the Sublime (Room 9)
Veiwing Notes:
The biblical 'Book of Job' addresses the existence of evil and suffering in a world where a loving, all-powerful God exists. It has been described as 'the most profound and literary work of the entire Old Testament'. In 'Job', God and Satan discuss the limits of human faith and endurance. God lets Satan force Job to undergo extreme trials and tribulations, including the destruction of his family. Despite this, as God predicted, Job's faith remains unshaken and he is rewarded by God with the restoration of his health, wealth and family. Here Blake shows Satan torturing Job with boils.
Artwork History:
Presented by Miss Mary H. Dodge through the Art Fund 1918
Artist Info:
Born 1757 in London, United Kingdom, died 1827 in London, United Kingdom
I also viewed:
The Deluge
Around 1840
Francis Danby
Oil on CanvasHeight : 707.00 cm
Width : 1099.00 cm
Located in: Art and the Sublime (Room 9)
Veiwing Notes:
Danby made his name with epic subjects, often on a large scale. This was his last. The subject is from the Old Testament book of Genesis. God sends a flood to punish mankind's wickedness but allows Noah and his family to be saved. Noah's ark is in the background, illuminated by a shaft of moonlight. A stormy sea rages round a rocky peak and massive tree branches, to which humans and animals are clinging desperately. A blood-red sun can be seen setting to the left. In the lower right hand corner, an angel weeps over the death of a child.
Artwork History:
Purchased 1953
Artist Info:
Born 1793 in Wexford, Éire, died 1861 in Exmouth, United Kingdom
And this:
Portrait of James Hamilton, Earl of Arran, Later 3rd Marquis and 1st Duke of Hamilton, Aged 17
1623
Daniel Mytens the Elder
PaintingHeight : 2007.00 cm
Width : 1251.00 cm
Located in: Tudor and Stuart Portraiture (Room 2)
Veiwing Notes:
Mytens was born and trained in the Netherlands. From 1618 he worked in England for the most advanced court patrons. Compared with local artists, he offered a striking naturalism. Hamilton shared an interest in art-collecting with the future Charles I, whom Mytens painted in a similar pose. In 1623, the date of this picture, Hamilton had attended the Prince in Madrid during Charles's unsuccessful attempt to marry a Spanish princess. There they saw portraits by the young Velasquez. Years later, during the Civil War, the royalist Hamilton was to prove a poor military leader. He was beheaded shortly after Charles himself.
Artwork History:
Presented by Colin Agnew and Charles Romer Williams 1919
Artist Info:
Born around 1590 in Delft, Nederland, died around 1647 in Gravenhage, Nederland
With what seems to be such ease and freedom of a day out at the Museums I jumped over to the National Gallery and found:
Portrait of Giovanni della Volta with his Wife and Children
Lorenzo Lotto
Oil on canvasHeight : 104.50 cm
Width : 138.00 cm
Located in: Central Hall - Northern Italy 1500-1580
Veiwing Notes:
Artwork created: completed 1547
This is probably a portrait of the Venetian merchant, Giovanni della Volta and his family described in Lotto's account book between 1538 and 1547. No other portrait of a man, woman and two children by Lotto is known.
The action is focused on the bowl of cherries on the table. The mother offers cherries to her daughter, while the father offers them to his son, who seems to dance before him in the foreground.
The table with its elaborately patterned Turkish carpet is central to the painting. This is of a type frequently represented by Lotto (hence known as a 'Lotto carpet') and has yellow arabesques on a red field, and a Kufic border.
National Gallery inventory number: NG1047
Artwork History:
Bequeathed by Miss Sarah Solly, 1879
Artist Info:
This is probably a portrait of the Venetian merchant, Giovanni della Volta and his family described in Lotto's account book between 1538 and 1547. No other portrait of a man, woman and two children by Lotto is known.
The action is focused on the bowl of cherries on the table. The mother offers cherries to her daughter, while the father offers them to his son, who seems to dance before him in the foreground.
The table with its elaborately patterned Turkish carpet is central to the painting. This is of a type frequently represented by Lotto (hence known as a 'Lotto carpet') and has yellow arabesques on a red field, and a Kufic border.
National Gallery inventory number: NG1047
Artwork History:
Bequeathed by Miss Sarah Solly, 1879
Artist Info:
Artist dates: about 1480-1556/7
Lotto was one of the leading Venetian-trained painters of the earlier 16th century. He painted portraits and religious works exclusively. His early works are strongly influenced by Giovanni Bellini. Lotto was active in various places in Italy and absorbed a wide range of other influences, from Lombard realism to Raphael. He was deeply religious and his late paintings become intensely spiritual.
Unable to compete with Titian, Lotto worked mainly outside Venice. He is recorded at Treviso in 1503, then in the Marches, and in Rome, probably in 1508. From 1513 to 1525 he resided mainly at Bergamo in Lombardy, where he painted several major altarpieces. A period in Venice from 1526, with long absences, was followed by his retirement to a religious establishment at Loreto in 1552.
Lotto's later paintings are recorded in an account book and diary which he kept from 1538. His works are characterised by the use of deeply saturated colours, bold use of shadow, and a surprising expressive range, from the nearly caricatural to the lyrical. He is one of the most individualistic of the great Italian painters.
Lotto was one of the leading Venetian-trained painters of the earlier 16th century. He painted portraits and religious works exclusively. His early works are strongly influenced by Giovanni Bellini. Lotto was active in various places in Italy and absorbed a wide range of other influences, from Lombard realism to Raphael. He was deeply religious and his late paintings become intensely spiritual.
Unable to compete with Titian, Lotto worked mainly outside Venice. He is recorded at Treviso in 1503, then in the Marches, and in Rome, probably in 1508. From 1513 to 1525 he resided mainly at Bergamo in Lombardy, where he painted several major altarpieces. A period in Venice from 1526, with long absences, was followed by his retirement to a religious establishment at Loreto in 1552.
Lotto's later paintings are recorded in an account book and diary which he kept from 1538. His works are characterised by the use of deeply saturated colours, bold use of shadow, and a surprising expressive range, from the nearly caricatural to the lyrical. He is one of the most individualistic of the great Italian painters.
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