Plink Art review

If you’ve ever found yourself staring at a painting and wondering who created such a fantastic piece of art then you’re exactly the kind of person who might benefit from downloading the Plink Art Android application.

This inspired piece of software has the ability to indentify thousands of paintings merely through sight alone; it operates very much like the numerous CD/DVD cover recognition apps currently available on the Android Market, the big difference being that Plink Art has an arguably more virtuous purpose: the intellectual enlightenment of its user.

Plink Art’s aptitude at correctly spotting a work of art is uncanny; we tried several different examples and it was successful every time. Naturally, the art you’re trying to indentify has to be of some repute – really obscure or unknown paintings aren’t going to be acknowledged by the app – but even when taking this into consideration, Plink Art has a pretty impressive scope.

Photo quality obviously plays a huge role in getting these results, though. You have to ensure the image is aligned as accurately as possible and that it’s well lit. Plink Art struggles with paintings in darkened rooms, which is perfectly understandable. After all, it can only be expected to comment on what it can actually see.

Putting a name to a picture isn’t the only reason Plink Art is worthy of investigation. The app also showcases the search tool, which allows you to type in the name of painting or artist. In the case of the latter, you’re given a massive amount of biographical data on some of the more highly-esteemed figures. A link from each of their profiles is included which shows the various works of art they produced, as well as the ability to leave a comment outlining your thoughts on their legacy.

Connectivity is actually quite a key feature of Plink Art; for example, when perusing the images you’re given the opportunity to purchase a print of each painting, where applicable. The link actually takes you to an external site rather than handling the ordering process via Plink Art itself, but it’s a neat touch all the same – especially if you stumble across an image you want to hang up on your wall.

Plink Art is a surprisingly complete package, but its developer is keen to stress that more is on the way. An option which tracks your browsing habits and takes note of your geographical location is on the cards and once this is available, the app will be able to offer up more focused search results and suggestions.

In the meantime, there’s still more than enough here to justify your time, and if you’ve a keen interest in expanding the boundaries of your artistic knowledge, this is a must-have.