GLAMi nomination: Second Canvas Mauritshuis

nominated by: Sandra Verdel, Mauritshuis, The Netherlands
institution: Mauritshuis
category: Exhibition and Collection Extension
https://www.mauritshuis.nl/en/explore/the-collection/second-canvas-app/

Second Canvas Mauritshuis takes users on a voyage of digital discovery through a selection of the museum’s masterpieces and introduces the artworks in an interactive way. It harnesses high resolution technology to zoom in on the brushstrokes, thereby revealing a level of detail in famous paintings that are otherwise invisible. It features an audio tour, which directs the eye to important aspects of the work, and can also be used to share the details directly via social media. Next to the Girl with a Pearl Earring by Vermeer and ‘The Garden of Eden’ by Rubens en Brueghel, the app presents eight other works of the Mauritshuis collection by Rembrandt, Rubens, Brueghel, Avercamp, Steen and others in high-resolution.

This is the first app in the world to offer Gigapixel integrated infrared images, which take users below the surface a painting revealing to layers and millimeter-sized details that are not normally visible to the naked eye. The Mauritshuis has joined forces with an innovative digitisation company, Madpixel, to bring part of the collection to a broader audience in an entirely new way.

  • Super-zoom to explore the artworks with the best quality and discover hidden details. Specially for the Girl with a Pearl Earring and The Garden of Eden, where you will be able to zoom-in beyond the naked eye, up to the brushstroke level, and see the crackle, thanks to their Gigapixel resolution.
  • Infrared vision for these two paintings, also in Gigapixel resolution, to reveal the drawing under the painting and discover the “pentimenti”, even on the tiniest details.
  • Discover amazing stories on all Mauritshuis masterpieces, detail by detail, told by museum experts: learn about the characters, symbology, technique, or the artist signature.
  • New Gigapixel AudioTour feature: play a cinematic tour through the Gigapixel image to discover the artwork secrets while listening to the audio.
  • Tell your own stories on social media, selecting the details you want to share in super-high resolution.
  • Enjoy the experience with you AppleTV at home, or connect your iPad/iPhone to the projector at school, as a tool for teachers and students.
  • Download the details with their stories so they can be accessed even when you’re offline or in airplane mode.