![]() Art institutions and the standardization of digital images In any case, although there remain various technical limits concerning resolution and viewing of high-resolution digital images, we have reached to the point where any significant increase in magnification of small, "cabinet" pictures like those of Vermeer is likely to be of use only for conservators. They may also greatly facilitate scholarly research by allowing extended viewing and the possibility of comparing multiple works of art at an extremely low cost. Good digital images of artworks can pique the neophyte's curiously, confirm and renew the museum goer's on-the-spot impressions. ![]() However, notwithstanding the continual debate as to the advantages and disadvantages of digital images of artworks, digital images should not be considered adversaries to original artworks, but close allies when used properly. Obviously, even in the best of cases, a painting's dimensions and texture, both absolutely crucial components of any serious viewing experience, are lost in even the most sophisticated digital image. Paintings are instead, three-dimensional physical objects made of successive layers of variegated substances that combine in unique and unusual manners. Digital images are formed by side-by-side pixels which emit different frequencies of light. However, viewing digital images of artworks present important lacunae with respects to the original artworks they represent. For example, to expect Vermeer's Guitar Player to reveal its nuanced beauty in the faint light of the barely illuminated Kenwood House where the picture is permanently housed is to ask too much ofany painting, whatever its artistic merit. ![]() The level of detail and the accuracy of color of the best digital images are such that they offer various advantages to viewing real works in museums, especially during temporary exhibitions when the viewing conditions of the artworks can be seriously compromised by broader exhibition interests.Ĭrowds, glare, dim light and the impossibility of examining paintings at close range (to say nothing the inaccessibility of the important art collections to a great part of the world's population) are all factors that seriously inhibit the study and appreciation of many works of art. There is much to be said for today's state-of-the-art digital images of artworks. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
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