Fittingly, we’ve seen a lot of different approaches to art in VR. While some imitate real world locations, Woofbert has been making virtual galleries that pay respect to historic masterpieces, and Art Plunge is actually recreating those works inside of headsets. Then there are entirely original works of VR art that are only just starting to emerge. Artheon has another interesting addition to the genre.
Developed by Impossibility Labs, Artheon Virtual Museum collects thousands of fine art objects for your viewing, reproducing them in incredibly high detail. It gathers collections from MET Museum, Rijksmuseum and Artsy.net, and allows you to inspect them in close detail, even picking them up to bring them closer to you. You can find out more about every piece with an InfoPad that includes information and YouTube videos on each. Check out the trailer below.
But here’s the really cool part; you can effectively make your own galleries within Artheon.
When you search for specific paintings or artists inside the the app, it will dig into its database in real-time and, when you turn around to face the gallery, you’ll find the search results laid out along the halls. With so many pieces on display, you could lose hours here picking through different works.
There are also permanent exhibitions, which Impossibility CEO Vasily Gnuchev explains is being curated in-house and will be playable offline. The company also plans to host temporary exhibitions too, just like a real museum. It’s just a shame the resolution of VR headsets currently isn’t high enough to really do these artworks justice, but that will be resolved in the years to come.
Artheon will be available soon on Steam with HTC Vive support, and arrive on the Oculus Store with Rift support later down the line.
