Art is one of those things that tends to divide people. In crude terms, you either love it or hate it. Maybe it’s just me but I find it fascinating to observe the different approaches people have when visiting a museum. Obviously, these centers of culture and history don’t attract the haters but for everyone else, art is experienced in a variety of ways.
First of all, there’s the enthusiast. This is the person who makes their way slowly around the museum, reading every caption and standing, staring in front of every masterpiece. At the other end of the spectrum, you have the mad dasher. This is the person who walks around the whole museum in a matter of minutes, glancing at each piece without much interest in learning more about it. In the middle, there’s also the non-committer, who is a blend of the first two.
Whichever type of person you are, I’ve got an app for you. It’s called DailyArt, and it aims to open your eyes to how amazing art is. It’s designed to help wannabe experts learn a little bit more and newbie explorers gain a lifelong love of learning about art.
This is part of a regular series of articles exploring the apps that we couldn't live without. Read them all here.
In this brief look at DailyArt, we'll dive into how this app popularizes art. We’ll take a look at the daily dose of art as well as the museum feature that helps guide you when there’s no tour guide available.
A dose of art every day
The app contains over 4,500 public-domain art pieces from over 900 artists. It's quite the collection. I always think it’s better to experience art in person, seeing it up close and getting a feel for how it’s been created. The art experience of the app is therefore a little underwhelming but I downloaded the app to learn and this is something it achieves in abundance.
Every single piece of art includes a well-written and engaging description. They are just the perfect length for reading in a matter of minutes and even contain links to more in-depth content. Descriptions can also be translated into a wide array of languages if the default English isn’t your first language.
After reading each description, I loved how easy it was to explore the artist. Artist’s profiles are split into a brief bio, a collection of their masterpieces that are included in the app, and a list of museums and galleries where you can find their work. The last of these is particularly helpful should you wish to track down an artist’s work.
If you’d like to get away from endlessly ‘doom’ scrolling on social media, then the DailyArt app is a great alternative for filling those times when you have nothing else to do.
Discover more art easily
Along with the daily art feature is a brilliant Discover section. This is perfect if you have more time on your hands and want to explore the art and artists more freely. When paired with the search feature, it offers everything you need to explore art history content.
The content inside the Discover tab is curated just for you. As it’s based on your personal preferences, you can rest assured that it’ll be tailored perfectly to your tastes. At any time, if you’d like to explore outside of your favorite areas, then that’s easy to do by selecting other genres and collections. You can also look at art through category mashups like cats in art, dogs in art, food, Italian Renaissance, and more.
Explore museums and galleries
The final feature of the app is all about galleries and museums. Artworks can be browsed from the comfort of your own home but this part of the app comes into its own when you’re physically visiting the museum. Some museums have very impressive descriptions but others don’t. At those times, just pull out the app and let it be your virtual tour guide. With over 500 museums included, you’re sure to find one near you.
DailyArt is available on every device, anytime, and anywhere. Your account also syncs across these devices. The free version offers a pretty comprehensive experience but you do have to endure the banner ads. Alternatively, you could opt for an annual subscription for $119.99 / £119.88 per year, which removes ads and grants access to all archived entries. Either way, DailyArt shares art history stories in an interesting and digestible way.
