MUNICH.- ‘Open to everyone’, ‘experience originals online’: these are the watchwords of the current collaboration between the Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen (Bavarian State Painting Collections) and Google Arts & Culture. First initiated last summer with the special exhibition Utrecht, Caravaggio and Europe, the partnership is now being expanded in this important next step. With immediate effect, visitors around the world will be able to enjoy digital access to the Alte Pinakothek and its art treasures in the permanent exhibition via the international online resource, Google Arts & Culture. So, while the current health crisis has forced the Alte Pinakothek to close its doors for the time being, members of the public can still explore for themselves the museum’s masterworks of European painting from the 14th to the 18th century: g.co/AltePinakothek

All galleries at the Alte Pinakothek have been digitized in 360° images in a project completed in time for Raphael’s birthday – a date that has additional significance for our museum, since the anniversary of the artist’s birth also marked the day that the building’s foundation stone was laid. Thanks to these images, it’s now possible to access the museum digitally anywhere in the world at the click of a button, through a computer screen or even mobile device. Anyone with a smartphone and viewer (such as a Google Cardboard) can even take a virtual-reality guided tour of the Alte Pinakothek. We’re also offering over 25 interactive and multimedia narrative-based features (‘stories’) as well as providing an exciting and informative look at a selection of masterworks held at the Alte Pinakothek – from Dürer, Rubens, Rembrandt, and Raphael through to Boucher and Murillo. By delving into additional high-resolution digital images and short accompanying texts, visitors can gain a more in-depth understanding of famous paintings. For example, they can discover which representational ambitions were pursued by the young Leonardo da Vinci – and the techniques he employed to achieve them – when, in around 1475, he painted the Madonna of the Carnation (presumably for a member of the Medici family). A visitor of the museum might pause in wonder in front of The Great Last Judgement (1617) by Peter Paul Rubens. Looking at the painting via the virtual tour on the device will open up detailed views, allowing them to zoom in for a closer look at the various protagonists and figure groups in this fascinating painting – which is so large that it’s impossible to see all the details close up in the gallery. Seen in conjunction with the #Kunstminute videos (brief introductions by curators to a number of famous paintings), the images created by staff at the Alte Pinakothek provide a wide-ranging survey of a selection of the museum’s masterpieces.

As the Bavarian State Minister of the Arts, Bernd Sibler, was keen to underline: “Art and culture continue to thrive in Bavaria! By providing a 360° tour through the Alte Pinakothek, the Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen’s collaboration with Google Arts & Culture has made it possible for people to enjoy world-famous masterpieces from their own homes. Art lovers can look forward to discovering new and innovative ways of accessing these cultural treasures. I extend a warm invitation to everyone to take part in this virtual museum tour!”

"We know that the museum as a place for talking about art and humanity can only be replaced digitally to a limited extent. This makes the various formats of mediation and information even more important to us now, so that the treasures remain present in our shared view of the world. Art is and remains an elixir of life," said Bernhard Maaz, Director General of the Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen.

The Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen previously partnered with Google Arts & Culture on the highly acclaimed special exhibition, Utrecht, Caravaggio and Europe, which brought together 75 works by Caravaggio and his followers. This exhibition was also digitized in 360° images, which can still be viewed via this link: g.co/pinacaravaggisti

The Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen are stepping up their cooperation with Google Arts & Culture as part of the museum’s wider digital strategy. True to our mission statement ‘Open to Everyone’, having the Alte Pinakothek featured on Google Arts & Culture allows us to achieve our aim of expanding and facilitating access to our exhibition spaces through digital media. By undertaking this step, we also open up the museum – at least on a virtual level – to people interested in our artworks but who for a range of reasons are currently unable to visit the Alte Pinakothek in person.