Google brings Bruegel to life with digital gallery

Belgium's Royal Museums of Fine Arts and the Google Cultural Institute on Tuesday announced the launch of a new project around Pieter Bruegel the Elder, one of the greatest Flemish painters of the 16th century. The Unseen Masterpieces project features 12 works by the painter, to be admired in eight prestigious international museums or online in ultra-high resolution, writes Het Laatste Nieuws.

Using advanced technology, the Institute produced razor-sharp digital images of the 12 paintings, representing a quarter of Bruegel's painted work. The project is extraordinary because many of the paintings have not been moved for more than 100 years due to their fragility.

“Most of Bruegel’s paintings are wooden panels which are very fragile and therefore difficult to move. Thanks to the idea of using new technology, future generations will be able to see these works that have survived history. In detail, in every imaginable way, freely, how, when and where they want,” says Michel Draguet, general director of the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium.