Of course we can already look at many of the world’s greatest paintings on our smartphones, but it’s not possible to create the feeling of seeing one of these masterpieces in real life, at a gallery or museum.

Google can offer you the next big thing though. The search behemoth has launched a Pocket Gallery feature to its Arts & Culture application that uses augmented reality to generate virtual art galleries. They have started with one dedicated to some of the most iconic paintings by Johannes Vermeer, he of Girl with a Pearl Earring fame, curated by the Mauritshuis museum in The Hague. Choose a room, and you will be able to walk right up to paintings, studying them in detail and learning more about them at the same time. Google states that it as used the highest possible resolution to recreate 8 of the Dutch master’s works.

A Scattered Collection Collated
Born in Delft, in the Netherlands, in 1632 and dying there just 43 years later, Vermeer painted only 36 works in his lifetime, which are now dispersed across a total of 17 collections in 7 different countries. As Google has pointed out, it has never yet been possible to see all of this artist’s works in 1 place, and, since many of these are now too fragile to be transported, they are set to remain where they are indefinitely.

The internet, however, and modern technology has come to the rescue, in much the same way as it’s revolutionised things for slots fans, for example. You can view hundreds upon hundreds of the best online pokies Australia at a single site, and don’t have to travel to any far-flung venues in order to do so anymore! Dilettantes are now able to enjoy the same great convenience and instant access.

The Augmented Reality Experience
Google Arts & Culture will be leveraging AR for their new Pocket Gallery feature. Upon opening the application, you’ll see the camera displaying a virtual 7-room exhibition space that you tap to enter, dragging, pinching, and resizing the screen to move around.

Google’s ultra-high resolution robotic Art Camera was made specifically to render artworks and photographs, and was deployed to a number of galleries across the globe. It has created the highest-ever resolution images of 8 of Vermeer’s greatest works for art lovers to enjoy.

Painting Tours Available
Curated by the Mauritshuis Museum, each work has a tour accompanying it, offering guided insights and stories from experts exploring Vermeer’s life and legacy. Taking part in these will allow you to explore famous paintings like Girl with a Flute more deeply, and give you the kind of understanding about these that wouldn’t be possible otherwise.

It’s a comprehensive experience that allows you to to immerse yourself in the work, and there are several stories that shed light on aspects of the painter’s art, bequest, and day-to-day life that you may not already be aware of. For instance, you can hear Tracy Chevalier, who authored Girl with a Pearl Earring, talking about her fictional account of the model depicted, Vermeer, and the painting itself.