Skip to main content

Become a cultural aficionado with Google’s improved art searches

Searching for art just got better. Where will you start?
Nothing screams culture quite like a developed knowledge of the world’s greatest art masterpieces, and now, Google wants to help you become a true connoisseur. Thanks to Google’s newest update to its Search function, you’ll be able to “access more  relevant results … and dive deeper into topics of interest.” Moreover, the tech giant has also added a feature to Street View that will serve as your digital museum guide as you peruse the gilded halls that contain some of the greatest achievements in human creativity.

Each month, Google sees more than 500 million art-related searches. And to help further refine those searches, the Google Arts & Culture team has partnered with Google Search engineers to improve how the company’s “systems understand and recognize artworks, the places you can see them in person, the artists who made them, the materials they used, the art period they belong to, and the connections among all these.”

That means that when you search an artist (say Leonardo Da Vinci), you’ll be shown an interactive Knowledge Panel that highlights other information of note, like a collection of his (or her) work, or the museums where you can find their most revered pieces. For some images, you’ll be able to click through to see high-resolution imagery from the highfalutin Google Arts & Culture team.

Google has also improved its Street View tour for art aficionados, and has made it possible to virtually walk through a museum and check out various pieces, complete with annotations on the wall directly next to the artwork. If you click on the annotation, you’ll be able to explore more analysis still, provided by “hundreds of the world’s renowned museums.”

These latest features were made possible with Google’s visual recognition software, which scanned the walls of participating museums, and then identified and categorized the 15,000 works they contained. So if you’re looking to impress your date (or just yourself) with your vast knowledge of art, Google may be a good place to start.

Editors' Recommendations

Lulu Chang
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Fascinated by the effects of technology on human interaction, Lulu believes that if her parents can use your new app…
This new Google Chrome feature may boost your search history
A MacBook with Google Chrome loaded.

Google is adding a new feature to its Chrome web browser that’s intended to help you find previously browsed topics and pick up where you left off. Called Journeys, it’s rolling out now for Chrome’s desktop version.

The feature essentially works like an extension of browsing history. When you type a word into the search bar or head to the Chrome History Journeys page in your browser, you will see a list of previously visited sites linked to that topic. Chrome will know how much you’ve interacted with any particular site, and those it considers the most relevant to you will go to the top of the pile.

Read more
Google Assistant and YouTube Music coming to Galaxy Watch 4
Watch 4 media controls.

Google is building on its close partnership with Samsung to bring the Galaxy Watch 4 deeper into the Android ecosystem, with new communication, productivity, and entertainment features.

In the coming weeks, new Galaxy Watch 4 owners will be able to install and set up Google Play apps during the initial configuration process, right out of the box. Your favorite apps from your Android smartphone will show up as recommendations on your new Watch 4, so you can quickly install them with a single tap without the need to hunt for them on the Play Store.

Read more
WhatsApp backups may soon count against Google Drive storage
Person texting on a smartphone using WhatsApp.

New evidence found in a beta build of WhatsApp for Android suggests that Google may no longer be offering unlimited storage for WhatsApp backups.

This probably shouldn’t come as a big surprise, as Google has gradually been clamping down on its unlimited storage offerings. For years, Google offered storage allotments for Google Drive customers that ranged from generous to downright unlimited, but the search giant has slowly been walking that back lately.

Read more