Complementing Artworks to Create Immersive VR Museum Experiences

Virtual and augmented reality offer various ways to enhance art exhibitions and create virtual museum experiences. In this work, we investigate the impact of digital additions to paintings in a VR museum setting. In particular, we evaluate if adding visuals in the same style of a painting or small 3D animations related to its content can have a positive impact on the experience and on how the art is perceived. Using Parsons' theory of how we understand art, our results demonstrate an effect on the experience and thus confirm the potential of such digital additions for VR museums.