The world’s leading museums, just a click away
30/03/2020
The current exceptional situation is forcing millions of people around the world to stay home until further notice, which is a lot of extra hours to occupy. Why not invest them in discovering art and history around the globe? We can’t go to museums, but we can take them home. They are just one click away. More than 2,500 institutions and museums from all over the world have partnered with Google Arts & Culture to provide virtual tours and unique content. Here are some of the world’s leading art agencies that we encourage you to visit online.
The Carmen Thyssen Museum, Andorra
The Carmen Thyssen Museum (located a few meters from the Andorra Sotheby’s International Realty headquarters) arrived in the country to present Carmen Thyssen collection and has already become a reference in the Principality’s cultural offerings, thus contributing to its international projection. For these days of confinement, the Thyssen has opted for interaction and social media. In them you will find talks by its artistic director, Guillermo Cervera, or activities under the hashtag #MCTAChallenge: recreating your favorite work of art or reinterpreting a work by letting your imagination fly are now available.
Palace of Versailles, Versailles
In 1682, King Louis XIV installed the French court and royal residence at the Palace of Versailles. Until the French Revolution a century later, various kings alternated to beautify the palace and make it the exaggerated, golden show that can still be seen today. The Hall of Mirrors, the Royal Opera, the Grand Trianon, the immaculate and sculptured gardens and the Maria Antoinette’s dwellings can be found online, as well as numerous and detailed exhibitions that will make you an expert in French dynasties.
The Prado National Museum, Madrid
One of the most visited European museums (in thirteenth position) could not lag behind when virtual tours. The initiative of the The Prado National Museum in Madrid, #PradoContigo, is an online program of actions, both through its website and its social networks, which guarantees “access to knowledge about its works and artists for as long as it has to remain closed”. Under this hashtag you can access not only to virtual tours, but also to videos commenting on art works and even games for children. The project has been active for only one week but has already accumulated more than half a million users.
They may temporarily close the 16th-century structure designed by Giorgio Vasari, but anyone can keep exploring their treasures from every corner of the globe. Among its most notable works is its Renaissance collection, but now Google has emphasized works by the masters Amico Aspertini and Piero di Cosimo. If what you like the most are online tours, Street View makes it easy for you, as they guide you through such prestigious Renaissance canvases as Botticelli’s Birth of Venus or da Vinci’s Announcement.
From its romantic location on the Seine river in Paris we will have to wait to enjoy it, but its immense collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings, will not be needed. Online you will find masterpieces by artists like Seurat, Renoir, Degas, Monet or Renoir. You will also learn how the museum was born, from its origins as a train station for the 1900 Universal Exposition, to its modern day reiteration as a world class organism.
The Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
Amsterdam’s Van Gogh Museum hosts Vincent Van Gogh’s largest collection of artworks in the world, including more than 200 paintings. You will be able to analyze as many works of the tortured Dutch artist as you want, in close and detailed, by virtually visiting the museum. There you will also find an online exhibition examining Van Gogh’s love life – or the lack of it.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Its unmistakable steps, its spacious areas filled with antiques and paintings, and its luxurious annual party, the Met Gala, make the New York Met one of the world’s most admired institutions. As we still do not know when we’ll be able to enjoy the Met Gala this year, in the meantime the Met presents the couture work of Christian Dior or Elsa Schiaparelli, as well as the exhaustive analysis in a billion pixels of Woman With a Water Pitcher (Vermeer) and Harvesters (Bruegel the Elder). As for virtual reality, The Met 360º allows you to tour the Dendur Temple, The Met Breuer, the Court of Charles Engelhard and other popular collections in the museum; as well as providing access to a digital collection of over 200 books.
The Bauhaus Foundation, Dessau
The Bauhaus School was founded in 1919 in Weimar, but it was not until the period between 1925 and 1932 in Dessau that it reached its full height. It is an artistic-scientific Foundation, and its mission to preserve and transmit the ideas of the Bauhaus remains active even if it cannot receive visitors for the moment. Through their online proposal in the form of a virtual scrapbook, users can simulate the journey of a Bauhaus student, from their discoveries to their legendary parties.
The Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), London
Widely regarded as the world’s leading institution for art and design, the British capital’s V&A hosts an impressive and varied collection: ceramics, furniture, jewelry, textiles, photography, sculpture, fashion, glass, goldsmithing and painting. In its online bet you will find bizarre examples of English medieval embroidery and looks from Alexander McQueen’s “Savage Beauty” retrospective, which was first shown at the New York Met.
The Getty Center, along with the Getty Villa, is the preeminent warehouse of Old World art on the US West Coast. Despite its location, it hosts European art of the 20th century in particular. Through a tour of Street View, you will discover all of his incredible paintings, drawings, sculptures and manuscripts without leaving your home.