Nikkei Innovation Lab and the Metropolitan
Museum of Art, New York, create a digital
timeline of 500 years of Western painting
February 25, 2022 ⒝ Nikkei Innovation Lab, the research and development arm of Nikkei Inc., incooperation with the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, has produced the "EuropeanMasterpieces Timeline." This digital visualization incorporates 2,500 Western paintings from theMetropolitan Museum of Art's collection. The timeline allows visitors to understand when andwhere paintings from a variety of periods were created, and it also provides information on thesocial backgrounds to these works. The timeline is on display at the National Art Center, Tokyo,until May 30, 2022, under the exhibition title "500 Years of Western Painting."

The European Masterpieces Timeline is a presentation of European works from theMetropolitan Museum of Art's collection in the form of a timeline. Nikkei Innovation Lab useddigital data about such paintings to create this striking display.
The paintings that appear most prominently in the timeline are from the "500 Years of WesternPaintings" exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, but the numerous small dots thatmake up the timeline are based on about 2,500 other works housed at this New York museum.
Each dot depicts one of the masterpieces that have helped to define the long history of theWest. In a repeated process of assembling and disassembling, the dots come together to form asingle painting before being rearranged and transformed to depict the next work. In this way,
paintings from era after era are displayed. Information on the age of each work, the techniquethat was used to create it, and the region in which it was made is also projected, along with atimeline of world history.
The timeline sections of art exhibitions are always among their most popular attractions, andsuch displays typically draw large crowds. Nikkei Innovation Lab has used digital technology todesign a new form of chronology that is certain to delight a large number of visitors. This is thesecond time that Nikkei Innovation Lab has created a large-scale digital feature at an artexhibition, following its work at "Pierre Bonnard, the Never-Ending Summer⒥ exhibition held in
2018, which showcased many works of this artist drawn from the collection of the Museed'Orsay.
About "The Metropolitan Museum of Art: 500 Years of Western Painting⒥The "500 Years of Western Paintings" exhibition features 65 masterpieces (46 of which havenever been shown in Japan before) selected from the approximately 2,500 works in thecollection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Department of European Paintings. Half amillennium of Western paintings, ranging from the early Renaissance paintings of the 15thcentury to pieces from the Post-Impressionists of the 19th century, are on display. The
exhibition is divided into three ⒤chapters⒥ that are arranged in chronological order. Among themasters whose works are presented at the event are Fra Angelico, Raphael, Cranach,Caravaggio, Vermeer, Renoir, Degas, Cézanne and Monet.
Dates
February 9, 2022 (Wed) - May 30, 2022 (Mon)
Closed on Tuesdays (but open on Tuesday, May 3)
Venue
Special Exhibition Room 1E, The National Art Center, Tokyo
Opening Hours
10:00 - 18:00 (until 20:00 on Fridays and Saturdays)
Admission is possible until 30 minutes before closing.
The exhibition period is subject to change. Check the official website for details.
https://met.exhn.jp/en/

About Nikkei Innovation Lab
Nikkei Innovation Lab is a research and development organization of Nikkei Inc. Its objective isto lead the Nikkei Group into the future with various types of knowledge and creative ideas on
the latest technologies, and to generate innovations that contribute to society at large. We willcontinue to conduct research and development in a wide range of areas, including artificial
intelligence research applying the latest academic theories, VR and the metaverse domain.

About Nikkei
Nikkei is a world-renowned media brand for Asian news, respected for quality journalism and for being a trusted
provider of business news and information. Founded as a market news provider in Japan in 1876, Nikkei has growninto one of the world⒢s largest media corporations, with 37 foreign editorial bureaus and approximately 1,500
journalists worldwide. Nikkei acquired the Financial Times in 2015.
Contact
Public Relations OfficeNikkei Inc.
pr@nex.nikkei.co.jp
https://www.nikkei.co.jp/nikkeiinfo/en/