The Courtauld has launched a new online project devoted to the simple act of looking at art. The Art of Looking, published on Google Arts and Culture, gathers twelve new stories that guide viewers through close encounters with works from the collection, showing how attention, patience and curiosity can open up a painting.

The stories draw on the Courtauld's holdings and its teaching, encouraging readers to slow down and notice the details that are easy to miss: the way a brushstroke sits on the surface, the choices behind a composition, or the small signs that reveal how a work was made. It is aimed at anyone, whether or not they have ever visited the gallery in person.

Alongside the stories, the Courtauld is running an experimental six-month residency exploring how artificial intelligence can work with museum metadata, testing new ways of describing and connecting works in the collection. The residency sits within the same spirit as the project itself: finding fresh routes into pictures that have been studied for generations.

The launch extends the Courtauld's digital reach at a moment when museums are competing for attention online. By putting the emphasis on looking rather than on information, the project makes the case that a screen can still be a place for slow, careful engagement with art. The twelve stories are published on Google Arts and Culture, where the Courtauld's collection can be explored alongside those of museums around the world. The project is part of a wider effort by the gallery to reach audiences who may never visit its rooms in person, using digital tools to open up its holdings.