Tour
There are two main modes of exploration: one places emphasis on the art; the other prioritizes place; both leverage the same tools. Two drop-down menus—one with a list of museums, another a list of works inside a given museum—are pinned to the top of the screen. With search built into both drop-downs, Google Art Project is prepared to scale to the demands of new museums and more exhaustive collections of artwork.

I began by virtually navigating New York's Frick Collection. As with Street View, Museum View allowed me look, zoom, and jump from corridor to corridor. Inside the West Gallery, I moved from one painting to the next, much as I would inside the museum. I was a bit disappointed with the quality of imagery; it would be nice if, where high-res art is available—for example, Rembrandt's "Self-Portrait"—users could launch high-res art by double-clicking a frame.

What is achieved in "Explore Museum," however, is a sense of place within a museum. Clicking the "Information" button opens a sidebar that includes a linked floor plan—particularly useful in larger museums like the MET—historical information about the museum, and a Google Map showing the museum's location and address. I hope future updates to Art Project add hours and admission information.

Just as Street View is no replacement for walking a block, Museum View is no replacement for visiting a museum. That didn't stop me from enjoying my e-tour. Not every museum is well mapped—for example, most of London's National Gallery floor plan remains uncharted—but I was impressed with the extent to which I could electronically scour smaller museums such as The Frick. I could see how, Museum View could become a valuable planning tool for visitors, especially for larger collections.

From the Museum View mode you can view a list of "More Works in this Museum," sortable by artist or artwork. Clicking any of the available pieces transports you to the art-centric mode of exploration.

Zoom
Appropriately, it's with artworks that Art Project excels. As much as I enjoy touring museums, Google's centralization of high-resolution artwork and high-quality contextual information is where it excels. All of Art Project's artworks (and more) from the Frick is available on that museum's Web site, but, to access it, you need to find it. The same is true with the MET and the Tate Britain as well. Because each museum has its own idiosyncratic organizational scheme, you can spend hours hunting for content across sites. Art Project challenges the paradigm by doing what Google does best, organizing information.

Alongside each artwork I read viewing notes, artwork history, and artist information. There's even remarkably specific information like canvas dimensions. Under "Media," I accessed YouTube Video clips—loadable inside the sidebar—and listened to audio commentary—also without interrupting the browsing experience. Google Maps returns with an eye for artists: After I learned that Goya was born in Fuendetodos, Spain and died in Bordeaux France, I located Fuendetodos on a map (it's near Barcelona). And with links to other works by an artist or within the museum, you can leap from one piece to another.

My favorite part about the art is, of course, the art. The images included in Art Project are generally gorgeous. Even the Tate Britain, which, in my experience, had the lowest-resolution imagery, allowed me to get far closer than when I visited the museum. In the case of MoMA and MET, I could zoom to the point where I saw the cracks in the impasto.

Certainly, it's no replacement for the real thing. As part of my testing, I visited The Frick in real life. Seeing Goya's "The Forge" in-person and on-screen is a completely different experience. An LCD can't capture the scale and surroundings that contribute to the arresting power of "The Forge" inside its home. However, consistency in interface and quality of scans could make Art Project an invaluable research tool. Imagine you're an art history student in Florida writing on Cézanne: with Art Project, you can travel to New York as easily as London, without even cracking another tab in your browser.