Does your pooch look like a Picasso or your gerbil a Gauguin? Well, you can find out thanks to a Google feature that reveals which famous artwork your pet resembles.
Part of the Google Arts & Culture app, Pet Portraits uses machine learning algorithms to scan a photo of your pet and find the best matches from hundreds of years of art.
The system works with various animals including cats, dogs birds, fish, horses, rabbits and reptiles, and is available on Android and iOS.
It builds upon the success of Art Selfie, a similar feature launched in 2018 that let us humans find our eerie doppelgängers from the world of fine art.
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Does your pooch look like a Picasso or your gerbil a Gauguin? Well, you can find out thanks to a Google feature (depicted) that reveals which famous painting your pet resembles
The Pet Portraits tool is part of the Google Arts & Culture app, and lets you see which famous works of art your pet resembles
‘Today we are introducing Pet Portraits — a way for your dog, cat, fish, bird, reptile, horse or rabbit to discover their very own art doubles among tens of thousands of works from partner institutions around the world,’ said Google’s Michelle Luo.
‘Your animal companion could be matched with ancient Egyptian figurines, vibrant Mexican street art, serene Chinese watercolours and more,’ she added.
‘Just open the rainbow camera tab in the free Google Arts & Culture app for Android and iOS to get started and find out if your pet’s lookalikes are as fun as some of our favourite animal companions and their matches.’
Among the animals Google put through the app was CeCe, a show jumping horse who has competed across Europe, who the algorithm matched to a portrait of a horse, led by a rider, painted by the Italian artist Agostino Brunias.
Meanwhile, Nala (@nala_cat) — the famous feline who holds the Guinness World Record for the most Instagram followers, at 4,361,519 in May 13, 2020 — was paired with a print entitled ‘The Favourite Cat’ by American lithographer Nathaniel Currier.
In fact, the app allows you to learn more about each artwork matched to your pet’s photograph, and the artist behind the piece.
Exploring further with Google Arts & Culture, Ms Luo explained, allows users to discover more about our animal companions throughout history and get to know the art world’s 10 coolest cats and top dogs.
Among the animals Google put through the app was CeCe (left) — a show jumping horse who has competed across Europe — who the algorithm matched to a portrait of a horse, led by a rider, painted by the Italian artist Agostino Brunias (right)
The app allows you to learn more about each artwork matched to your pet’s photograph, and the artist behind the piece
Nala ( @nala_cat ) — the famous feline who holds the Guinness World Record for the most Instagram followers, at 4,361,519 in May 13, 2020 — was paired with a print entitled ‘The Favourite Cat’ by American lithographer Nathaniel Currier
‘When you take a photo in Pet Portraits, our trained computer vision algorithm recognises where your pet is, crops the image and puts them where they belong: front and centre,’ said Ms Luo.
‘Once that is done, a machine learning algorithm matches your pet’s photo with over tens of thousands of artworks from our partners’ outstanding collections to find the ones that look most similar.
‘Now it’s time for them to enter the spotlight: Share your pet’s #PetPortraits as a single still image or select multiple images to animate together as a GIF slideshow.’
It builds upon the success of Art Selfie, a similar feature launched in 2018 that let us humans find our eerie doppelgängers from the world of fine art. Pictured: Buster the cat found his mirror image in a Qing dynasty hanging scroll from 19th century China
Celebrities are matched with some VERY unflattering doppelgangers by Google Art Selfie app that twins faces to famous paintings (so which work of art do YOU look like?)
It’s worth doing a double take when you look at these images…
They are photos of Tom Hiddleston, Olivia Colman and Samantha Cameron along with portraits from the art world supposed to be their spitting images.
But the comparisons are not entirely flattering.
Google’s Arts Selfie feature matched the film and TV stars and former prime minister’s wife with paintings.
Hiddleston portrayed Henry V in the BBC adaptation of Shakespeare’s play of the same name, but the app suggests his perfect role could be as another monarch — he’s paired with a portrait of Spain’s 16th century ruler King Philip II
Hiddleston portrayed Henry V in the BBC adaptation of Shakespeare’s play of the same name.
But the app suggests his perfect role could be as another monarch — he’s paired with a portrait of Spain’s 16th century ruler King Philip II.
Broadchurch’s Olivia Colman, 44, may be rather disappointed with her double — a portrait of stocky curly-haired 19th century Dutch painter Gerrit Jan Michaelis by fellow artist Hendrik Willem Caspari.
Samantha Cameron, 47, was likened to the 17th century’s Henry Stuart, Duke of Gloucester, by another Dutch artist, Adriaen Hanneman.
Broadchurch’s Olivia Colman, 44, may be rather disappointed with her double — a portrait of stocky curly-haired 19th century Dutch painter Gerrit Jan Michaelis by fellow artist Hendrik Willem Caspari
The tool launched in Google’s Arts and Culture app worldwide in late 2018, having proven popular in the US — and used by the likes of country singer Dolly Parton and Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again actress Amanda Seyfried.
It is free to download on the Google Play and the Apple App Stores.
To match with a painting, you take a picture of yourself which will then be compared to thousands of works of art by Google’s AI software.
People must take and upload a selfie instead of using one from their camera roll, and the technology then matches the photo to five similar faces in paintings.
Google has partnered with 650 galleries across the globe.
Samantha Cameron, 47, was likened to the 17th century’s Henry Stuart, Duke of Gloucester, by another Dutch artist, Adriaen Hanneman
The tech giant hopes that young people will use the app and learn more about art in the process.
Only users in parts of the US and in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India were able to use Art Selfie when it first launched, but it was since made available to everyone.
Other features of the app include the ability to recognise works of art and virtual tours of famous museums.
‘Your selfie becomes a doorway into art — tap on your lookalike to discover more information about it or an artist that perhaps you’ve never heard of before,’ explained product manager Michelle Luo.
‘Together with our partner museums we are constantly experimenting with new ways for people to discover and interact with art.’
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