Interpretation in art means also being able to look at the same things in a new way and from a new perspective. Haltadefinizione offers the opportunity to have a closer look at the masterpieces that we think we have already observed but never from such a close perspective.
Thanks to the digital gigapixel technology, we can now observe, understand and share images in a completely new way. The company Haltadefinizione was able to break the record of the world’s first 16.1 gigapixel photograph of “The Last Supper” by Leonardo da Vinci (ca. 1490s) , which for some years was the largest digital image in the world.
“A gigapixel image is an ultra high definition digital reproduction, made by combining multiple detail images into a single object. It is made up of billions of pixels, which is much more than the capacity of a normal professional camera. The result is unique and spectacular: the image resolution” (Haltadefinizione).
Google Arts & Cultures, launched for the first time in 2011, had foresight on the digitalisation of the art exhibited in the main museums worldwide. What offers Haltadefinizione is a similar approach to art being accessible in high-quality images thanks to the digitalisation of artworks through gigapixels. This means that while looking at a sculpture or a painted canvas the viewer is able to clearly observe the porosity of the material, the cracks formed on the panels and the colour pigments used by the artist. The collection includes over 500 artworks by artists such as Tiziano, Caravaggio, Botticelli, Leonardo, Beato Angelico, Raffaello and Bronzino.
The production of these unique images gives us the opportunity of looking and studying elements that could not have been noticed by the naked eye before. Thanks to these detailed images we can now appreciate better quality images on different platforms such as museum catalogues, books, newspapers, television and cinema. It is a great tool also for art historians who now have the opportunity of doing new research on details that could not have been seen before. A new way of observing translates in creating a new approach towards art and in an even larger appreciation and valorisation of the world’s cultural heritage.
The best part is that these high-quality images in gigapixels can be discovered online for free on the website of Haltadefinizione (www.haltadefinizione.com). Go have a look and tell us about it!
What painting would you like to observe more closely? Tell us about it in the comment section below!
detail of Sandro Botticelli’s “Birth of Venus”, 1484–1486, Tempera on canvas, Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence 
detail of Sandro Botticelli’s “Madonna of the Magnificat”, 1480-81, Tempera on panel, Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence 
detail of Giovanni Segantini’s “Spring Pastures”, 1896, Oil on canvas, Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan 
detail of Caravaggio’s “Judith and Holofernes”, 1598-99, Oil on canvas, Galleria Nazionale di Arte Antica, Palazzo Barberini, Rome 
detail of Raphael’s “Portrait of Pope Leo X”, 1518–1519, Oil on wood, Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence
