While there's nothing quite like walking into an iconic museum and seeing a world-famous sculpture by a renowned artist, it's not always possible to fly to New York City, Paris, or Florence to explore the gallery halls. No worries. Now you can visit many of the world's best museums without ever leaving your house! We've compiled a list of five museums and art galleries that you can explore from the comfort of your couch via virtual tours.
Many of the virtual tours include exhibit walk-throughs and the opportunity to observe some of the world's best paintings, sculptures, and other pieces up close and personal. These virtual tours are packed with knowledge to give you the feelimng of viewing the museum in reality.
Guggenheim, Bilbao
One of the most distinctive art spaces in the world, this is located in a sculptured titanium and steel structure designed by Frank Gehry on the banks of the Nervión River. Its collection of postwar American and European art and sculpture, including the weathered curves of Serra's Matter of Time. You can watch the highlights (Modern and Contemporary Art: From 1950 to the Present) through their website. You can take a virtual tour around the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao with a 360° view.
Museu de Arte de São Paulo, Brazil
This first modern art museum in Brazil is renowned for its collection of European art and is regarded as the best museum in the Southern Hemisphere. More than 8,000 works of art, prints, and drawings, mostly from Brazil, as well as smaller collections from Africa and Asia, antiquities, decorative arts, and other things, are on display in the museum. The virtual tour includes art from Brazil until 1900; art from Italy (from Rafael to Titian); art from France (from Delacroix to Cézanne); art in fashion; the history of madness (the drawings of Juquery); and a picture gallery in transformation, can now be viewed virtually.
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
The National Gallery of Art and its attached Sculpture Garden are situated on Washington, D.C.'s National Mall and are free to the public. By joint resolution of the U.S. Congress, the museum was privately founded in 1937 for the benefit of the American people. The National Gallery of Art is generally regarded as one of the finest museums in the United States. It is the second most visited museum in the United States and 10th in the world, with incredible works such as Jackson Pollock's "Number 1," Leonardo da Vinci's "Ginevra de' Benci," and Degas' "Little Dancer Aged 14." The museum has compiled a collection of educational tools for teachers, families, and children on its website. The online exhibition includes American Fashion: Highlights from 1740 to 1895; Johannes Vermeer: Dutch Baroque Painter, etc.
Uffizi Gallery, Italy
Giorgio Vasari created the Uffizi for Cosimo I de' Medici, whose ancestors were by far the most significant supporters of art in Renaissance Italy. The museum now occupies over 139,000 square feet and has 101 various rooms to display its collection of artwork, which includes well-known works like "The Birth of Venus." The Uffizi is Italy's most popular art museum, drawing over 2 million visitors annually. The gallery virtually features works by Bolognese painters such as Piero di Cosimo, Perseus Freeing Andromeda, The Santa Trinita Maestà, Cimabue, The Making of Federico Barocci's Drawings, and Drawings by Amico Aspertini.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, also known as "The Met," is the biggest art museum in the United States and the fourth most visited museum in the world, with over 6 million visitors each year. More than 2 million pieces from classical antiquity and ancient Egypt are included in the permanent collection, along with numerous works by American and contemporary artists and paintings and sculptures by nearly all of the great European masters. Additionally, it has a sizable collection of Islamic, Byzantine, African, Asian, and Oceanian artwork. Viewers can take a virtual tour of museum areas such as the Great Hall, the Met Cloisters, and the Arms and Armor Gallery while listening to instrumental music. The Met website also features a series called Art at Home that provides up-close virtual access and analysis of well-known works as well as videos of conservation initiatives and project instructions.
