Google Arts & Culture launches digital collection of Czech art

For the first time ever, the Google Arts & Culture platform has created a digital exhibition devoted to the Czech Republic's art, architecture, and design scenes.

The newly launched collection, called "The HeART of Czechia" was introduced on Wednesday to the media by the Minister for European Affairs Mikuláš Bek within the framework of the Czech Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

The collection of high-impact photos street views, and interactive games, was created in cooperation with 19 Czech cultural institutions, including the National Gallery, the National Museum, the National Theater, the Gallery of the City of Prague, the Contemporary Art Center DOX, the Museum of Applied Arts, Villa Tugendhat, the Mucha Foundation and the Olomouc Art Museum.

"We are happy that people can find the first digital collection dedicated to Czech cultural heritage on Google Arts & Culture as of today. Thanks to the work of our partners, anyone and anywhere can discover what the Czech Republic has to offer - masterpieces of art, famous glassworks, real architectural treasures, and unique design. This collection allows people to explore the artistic heart of the Czech Republic in a completely new way," says Taťána le Moigne, director of Google's Czech, Slovak, Hungarian and Romanian branches.

The exhibit includes more than 2,500 different works and artifacts, some of which have been digitized in ultra-high resolution, including works by František Kupka, Toyen, Emil Filla, and Josef Čapek, as well as contemporary glassmaker Martin Janeck, who creates realistic sculptures without using any forms.

A highlight of the collection is Alfons Mucha's masterwork, "The Slavic Epic," rendered in ultra-high resolution, which lets users zoom in on individual brushstrokes or explore the texture of the canvas. The set of images, the largest of which measures over 6 by 8 meters, is one of the largest ever captured at such a resolution on Google Arts & Culture.

A new feature, twenty Street View collections, lets visitors zoom in on locations associated with the cultural life of the Czech Republic from the historic building of the National Theater to the famous airship Gulliver, part of the DOX Center for Contemporary Art.

Another important part of the collection is the new virtual tours of iconic buildings in Street View. Visitors to the site can walk through the historic building of the National Theatre, marvel at the famous airship Gulliver airship at DOX, see the Cubist building U Černá Matky Boží by the architect Josef Gočár, or the Mucha exhibition in the Valdštejnská jízdárna, designed by the world-famous architect Eva Jiřična (the actual exhibition will only be open until the end of this year).

"I am very happy that I could support this project with my patronage within the framework of our presidency of the Council of the European Union, and help spread awareness of the diversity and beauty of the Czech cultural heritage," said Minister Bek.

In total visitors can see more than eight dozen exhibitions from the project's partners.

The collection can be viewed on the website and via the Google Arts & Culture application, in both Czech and English.