Add some art to your browser for International Museum Day

Today is International Museum Day and it's been four years since we launched Google Art Project. Since then we’ve worked closely with hundreds of museums and partners around the world to bring art online while supporting their mission to encourage cultural exchange across the globe.

A great way to celebrate this special day with us is to download the Google Art Project Chrome extension. Launched a few weeks ago, this extension allows you to discover a work of art from our partners each time you open a new browser tab.

Whether browsing from home or the office, you’ll see masterpieces ranging from Van Gogh’s Landscape at Saint-Rémy and João Baptista de Costa’s Gruta Azul, all the way to contemporary works from street artists around the world. With the Google Art Project Chrome extension, you can turn each new tab into a journey through the world’s cultural heritage.

To learn more about the artwork, the artist or the museum showcased in your browser, just click on the lower left hand corner of the image to explore it on the Google Cultural Institute platform. Happy browsing!

Posted by Duncan Osborn, Product Manager, Google Cultural Institute

70 years on: remembering the end of World War II

This week marks the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II. As time passes, and memories fade, it’s important to remember both the sacrifices made and the remarkable stories of the period. That’s why the Google Cultural Institute has partnered with twenty-seven museums and institutions around the world to bring more than 1400 rare and important world war-related artifacts online.

Each of our partner institutions is a custodian of vital national heritage, preserving important stories and artifacts from the war years. Now, using tools provided by the Google Cultural Institute, expert curators have brought to life a wide range of remarkable and inspiring online exhibitions that demonstrate the bravery, ingenuity and sacrifice of those who fought - and those whose lives were changed forever by the war.

The Dutch Nationaal Comité 4 en 5 mei has curated an online exhibition of 100 objects from the War. Among them is a radio, hidden in a briefcase; members of the Dutch resistance used these devices to maintain contact with Britain during the War.

Image from the online exhibition entitled The Second World War in 100 Items

From the US National Archives’ online exhibition, World War II Looted Art: Turning History into Justice, we have rare photographs of the real Monuments Men and the masterpieces they rescued during the War

Image from the online exhibition entitled World War II Looted Art: Turning History Into Justice

The Warsaw Rising Museum has created an online exhibition with photographs of the Warsaw Uprising, taken by five photojournalists secretly trained by the Polish Underground State:

Image from the online exhibition entitled Photographs from the Warsaw Uprising

The World War II channel on the Cultural Institute includes many more rare images and stories, including German propaganda posters and photographs of the reconstruction of Manila after the War in the Pacific region.

We hope you’ll take a moment to step back in time to discover, learn and #RememberWW2 at google.com/culturalinstitute/project/second-world-war.

Posted by Kate Lauterbach, Google Cultural Institute

Discover Riga's cultural heritage online

On the occasion of the Latvian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, we invite you to explore Baltic cultural heritage anytime, anywhere with new collections and exhibitions on the Google Cultural Institute platform.

Today the collection is being enriched with curated stories from new partners: the National Library of Latvia, Museum of the Occupation of Latvia 1940-1991, Art Museum Riga Bourse, Museum of Romans Suta and Aleksandra Belcova, Museum of Decorative Arts and Design and Latvian National Museum of Art. Showcasing Baltic history and art in the rest of the region, new collections from the National Archives of Estonia and Lithuanian Art Museum are now also available on the site. Many cultural events are held in Riga this year and Latvian institutions are embracing new responsibilities that come with the digital age.

Artis Pabriks, Member of the European Parliament said: “I am proud to see that digital priorities are truly translated in 2015 thanks to cultural stories emerging from the partnerships between Google and Latvian institutions.”

The National Library of Latvia presents a unique exhibition “My, Your, Our Riga 100 Years Ago” which literally transports you to the city of Riga through maps, documents and pictures during the 18th century until the beginning of World War I in 1914. The story of the city is told in five theme based branches and concludes with an image of a diary by a German schoolgirl, E. Urdewitsch, with one laconic entry on the 78th page of her diary stating, “Germany has declared war on Russia,” which marks the end of her childhood as well as of the 19th-century Riga."

“1914 Calendar of the Baltic Youth” from the exhibition “My, your, our Riga 100 years ago”

The Museum of Occupation of Latvia 1940-1991 on the other hand provides extraordinary pictures of the Berlin Wall graffitis depicting the Latvian 1989 related movements. The project is a historical documentation of rebellious inscriptions, among others entitled “Freedom for Baltic States”. It offers a sneak peak of street art and paintings on the West Berlin side directed against the Soviet regime, and some of them were created by Latvians in exile.

“The Protest Wall” from the exhibition “Freedom for Baltic States”

With its main historical building currently closed to visitors, discover Latvian art heritage further from the Latvian National Museum of Art with a selection of works and insight into the past of Latvian painting. The online exhibition, “An Insight Into Latvian Culture Canon. Visual Art” features most outstanding works by the classics of several generations including Kārlis Hūns, Jūlijs Feders and more.

The Secret of Art is in the Details exhibit brings you to look into details of art pieces in the collection of The Art Museum Riga Bourse. Dive into Latvian modernism, paintings and graphics thanks to the Art of Roman Suta exhibition curated by the Museum of Romans Suta and Aleksandra Beļcova. Or explore Porcelain Art from the Museum of Decorative Arts and Design.

“Banks of the Tiber near Acqua Acetos” from the exhibition “The secret of art is in the details”

From Lithuania and Estonia, respectively, the Lithuanian Art Museum shares its network of museums in Vilnius, Klaipėda, Palanga, Juodkrantė, which contain more than 200,000 pieces in fine arts, applied art and folk art. The National Archives of Estonia’s online exhibit, "Tartu 1914-1918,” shows how everyday life in Tartu and its surrounding areas were affected by the first World War in Estonia.

Take time to browse and learn more about the history and art from Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia thanks to new technologies and the open web. We believe putting historical material on the Internet and organizing it in a comprehensive way not only gives more people access but also preserves these diverse perspectives for future generations.

Posted by Agata Wacławik-Wejman, Head of Public Policy, Central and Eastern Europe