Many museums post their collections online, but the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam has taken the unusual step of offering downloads of high-resolution images at no cost, encouraging the public to copy and transform its artworks into stationery, T-shirts, tattoos, plates or even toilet paper.
The museum, whose collection includes masterpieces by Rembrandt, Vermeer, Mondrian and van Gogh, has already made images of 125,000 of its works available through Rijksstudio.
Washington, DC’s National Gallery has already uploaded 25,000 works to share with the public — the wave of the future for museums in the age of digital communications.
(READ the story in the NY Times)
RELATED: Google Unveils New Virtual Tours of Top Art Galleries in the World