Wallace Collection on Google Arts & Culture

Journey through centuries of art and explore the museum’s masterpieces in stunning detail. The Wallace Collection, which houses fine and decorative arts and arms & armour in London, is celebrating its 125th anniversary with its first collaboration with Google Arts & Culture.

Lady Wallace bequeathed the family’s collection to the nation. This partnership with Google Arts & Culture includes newly digitised artworks, including 59 in gigapixel detail, 50 curated digital stories and a 3D exhibition, accessible to a global audience. This digital experience culminates in Whispers from The Wallace Collection, where audiences are invited to meet the art.

The 59 ultra-high-resolution gigapixel captures show a level of detail normally unseen. Viewers can appreciate subtleties, such as the red lashes of the maid in Watteau’s A Woman at Her Toilet, the lace in Vigee Le Brun’s Madame Perregaux, symbols in Jan Steen’s Celebrating the Birth, or details in Ruben’s Rainbow Landscape. The Gigapixel imaging technology preserves these masterpieces for everyone and future generations of researchers, safeguarding the knowledge of historic works against possible degradation or loss.

These artworks can be explored using a Hotspots feature available to mobile users on the Google Arts & Culture app. Hotspots use Google AI to highlight specific details drawn from cultural sources, making art discovery more intuitive.

Beyond the visual splendour, 50 digital narratives offer insights into the provenance, techniques, and meanings behind the collection's highlights. Learn about how Rembrandt reflected on ageing and loss, discover Diego Velázquez’s Lady with a Fan, and marvel at the jewelled daggers of the Mughal court. Discover the history of Hertford House, home of the Wallace Collection, and the traditions of 18th-century Venice through Canaletto's art. These stories delve into the human narratives of a diverse collection, from Sikh arms and armour to Rosa Bonheur's animal paintings, examining various identities with new perspectives, including depictions of Blackness in European art.

Step into the Animals in Art 'Pocket Gallery', inviting you to observe the connection between animals, humans, and art. Transform your device into a personal 3D gallery and get up close to a unique exhibition. Zoom in on details, read descriptions, and discover how animals have shaped human stories across centuries. It's a unique, immersive experience, offering perspectives on our relationship with the natural world. Explore the connection between animals, humans, and art in this Pocket Gallery

This collaboration between The Wallace Collection and Google Arts & Culture is part of the museum’s mission to make its collection accessible. As it embarks on an architectural masterplan, this project represents expansion into the digital world, bringing the museum’s collection to a global audience. Immerse yourself in the stories and secrets of art history that the collection holds. Explore the Wallace Collection on Google Arts & Culture with Whisper from the Wallace Collection at goo.gle/wallace.