Artfinder

Artfinder is, like Google Art Project, a means to access works of art from the comfort of your own technological device.

Artfinder is the work of a diverse group of people with backgrounds in theatre, developing, publishing and the music industry, to name but a few. The team offer a growing number of digital reproductions of paintings from around the world and also provide biographies of the artists (not every artist featured on this site has a biography yet) as well as guides to major artistic movements. 

As well as being able to search for works by period, artist or painting you can have a little 'Magic Tour'. This is a series of paintings offered up to you on the basis of other paintings that you have looked at: the classic internet feedback loop. You can also try the 'Shuffle' option, which might be a better way of being introduced to something surprising. 

You can post responses to the paintings, share the artworks that you like and utilise the usual social networking suspects to post links about the pieces that really make your soul cry. For those who lack the time and money to fly around the planet seeing paintings in museums, a website such as Artfinder offers plenty and we welcome it with a hearty cheer. 

5 May 2011