Right Side of the Law?

An interesting move by the Getty Photo Agency makes millions of its images available for free, via an embed.  This article discusses what is in it for The Getty, as well as for image consumers. Interesting to see how this issue is evolving.  Check it out at: http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/03/why-getty-going-free-is-such-a-big-deal-explained-in-getty-images/284264/

Science Fiction meets Gaming meets Art

An interesting piece from NPR about what makes great art famous. Is it because it is the best or because of some other factor?  Read more here to find out about alternate world paths where the Mona Lisa does not become the world's most famous painting.  good-art-is-popular-because-its-good-right

Islamic Art Resource

Students of Islamic art will want to check out this revamped on-line resource! Archnet offers articles and images for Islamic art and architecture, both contemporary and historic.  Take a look here: http://archnet.org/

The Beauty of Maps

 The Hereford "Mappa Mundi" is the largest intact medieval wall map in the world.  It is rarely displayed but after a recent restoration there was a chance to see it outside its glass case.  Such a wonderful photograph which shows the grand scale of the thing.  Read the article here: 
 the-beauty-of-maps

Smoke and Mirrors: Did Vermeer Have a Secret?

There is an intriguing article in this month's Vanity Fair about  an inventor in Texas who become obsessed with Vermeer's paintings. Check out the article Vermeer's Secret Tool

Tim Jenison, a creator of hardware and software for video production,  used his ingenuity to  look at the paintings in an entirely new way.  NPR also has an interview with Penn and Gillette, the makers of the documentary "Tims Vermeer" about how Jenison went about making his own version of Vermeer's "The Music Lesson". teller-breaks-his-silence-to-talk-tims-vermeer

Juxtapositions

It looks like a wonderful exhibit opening at the Prado this month. 

The Prado began its life as a natural history museum and  Spanish artist Miguel Ángel Blanco wanted to evoke that origin by installing some of the finest objects from the National Museum of Natural Sciences alongside the gallery's more famous works. 

"It occurred to me that I could create a contemporary cabinet, an artistic intervention that also showed off the natural history in the paintings that hang in the Prado," he said.

Colonial Williamsburg joins Google Art Project

The fantastic Google Cultural Institute has just added material from Colonial Williamsburg to its collection.

Enjoy this portrait of George Washington, by Charles Willson Peale, 1780.  In the midst of our government shutdown, it might be a good moment to contemplate some of our tumultuous history and iconic heroes.  The Google projects lets you get up close and personal by clicking on any image.  You can get close enough to see Washington's button holes and look him in the eye.

And, of course, there are many, many more wonderful images from all around the world.