How do you decide which artworks are similar?

Artwork pages show precomputed visual-neighbour grids. Text search separately uses Google EmbeddingGemma 2 to compare a query with 40,368 curated artwork images.

Can I find artworks similar to a specific painting?

Yes. Search for the work, open its artwork page, and use the visually similar works grid there. Every artwork page on the site has one.

Is this the same as browsing by movement or artist?

No, and that is the point. Browsing by artist or movement follows how the collection is catalogued. Similarity search follows how the works actually look, which regularly crosses period and national boundaries.

Does it work for drawings and prints, not just paintings?

Yes. The curated search index includes drawings, prints, photographs, and sculpture as well as paintings.

Which museum collection does Retrievals search?

The National Gallery of Art open-access collection in Washington, D.C., 68,816 objects released under Creative Commons Zero.

What languages can I search in?

Retrievals accepts natural-language queries in English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, and Chinese. The semantic index is language-agnostic.

Does Retrievals save my searches?

An account is required to search, but your searches are not saved to it and we keep no search history. Results may restore in the same browser tab for up to 12 hours via session storage.

Back to Search

Similarity Search

Find similar paintings
to one you already love

You have a work you like and want more of the same feeling. Describe what draws you to it (the light, the palette, the kind of scene) and Retrievals finds visual neighbours across 40,368 curated images from the National Gallery of Art's open collection.

Describe the qualities you want more of

Try an example

How it works

Artwork pages use precomputed grids of visually similar works. The grids connect images by visual content even when the artworks do not share an artist, country, or century.

Text search uses Google EmbeddingGemma 2 to compare descriptions with 40,368 curated artwork images. It finds matches by meaning rather than exact words.

That is a different answer from “more by this artist” or “more from this movement”. A Whistler nocturne can be nearer to a Japanese woodblock print than to another Whistler, and catalogue metadata will never tell you that.

Every artwork page on Retrievals carries its own precomputed grid of visually similar works, so you can start from one piece and keep walking outward through the collection.

Frequently asked questions

How do you decide which artworks are similar?: Artwork pages show precomputed visual-neighbour grids. Text search separately uses Google EmbeddingGemma 2 to compare a query with 40,368 curated artwork images.
Can I find artworks similar to a specific painting?: Yes. Search for the work, open its artwork page, and use the visually similar works grid there. Every artwork page on the site has one.
Is this the same as browsing by movement or artist?: No, and that is the point. Browsing by artist or movement follows how the collection is catalogued. Similarity search follows how the works actually look, which regularly crosses period and national boundaries.
Does it work for drawings and prints, not just paintings?: Yes. The curated search index includes drawings, prints, photographs, and sculpture as well as paintings.
Which museum collection does Retrievals search?: The National Gallery of Art open-access collection in Washington, D.C., 68,816 objects released under Creative Commons Zero.
What languages can I search in?: Retrievals accepts natural-language queries in English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, and Chinese. The semantic index is language-agnostic.
Does Retrievals save my searches?: An account is required to search, but your searches are not saved to it and we keep no search history. Results may restore in the same browser tab for up to 12 hours via session storage.

Other ways to search

Find a Painting by Description

Describe what you remember: a mood, a scene, a colour, and find it across 40,368 curated National Gallery of Art images. No artist name or title needed.

Identify a Painting You Cannot Name

Work out what a painting is from what you can see. Describe the subject, setting, and mood to search 40,368 curated National Gallery of Art images by meaning, then check the catalogue record.

Or browse by movement

Dutch Golden Age Impressionism American Realism Romanticism

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