Masterpieces in 7 billion pixels... Google Art Project

Google's latest venture Art Project took their Street View mapping technology through 17 of the world's greatest museums and galleries. Participating collections include The Tate, The Palace of Versailles, MoMA, the Hermitage and the Uffizi Galllery among a very distinguished list of others.

Each institution selected a masterpiece for digital capture at ultra-high resolution, up to 7 billion pixels in some instances. The beauty of this site is you can linger on the extrordinary detail and explore the paintings in ways that you cannot when in the gallery (and without enduring the crowds and queues!)

These 2 short clips are a worthwhile introduction before you explore the Art Project site in all its mind boggling glory.