One of the many things we lost access to during the COVID-19 lockdown period was visiting museums. Many museums faced financial hardship during this time, but one good thing came from the closed doors; online exhibits. Art museums like Musée d’Orsay in Paris, Museum of Modern Art in New York City and the Uffizi Gallery in Florence are among many who stepped up their online gallery game during the pandemic. This gives ordinary people who may never have the chance to visit Florence or Paris a chance to see the works. In honor of National Museum Day (May 18), here’s a list of recommended online museums:
The Louvre, Paris, France
The iconic Louvre offers several online tours and an abundance of interactive articles to enjoy at home. The Louvre is home to some of the world’s most famous artifacts and artworks including “Winged Victory of Samothrace, Liberty Leading the People” by Delacroix, and of course the “Mona Lisa” by Leonardo da Vinci. Along with their grand Italian Renaissance art collection, the Louvre also contains many ancient Egyptian artifacts, Islamic art and Medieval art.
National Women’s History Museum, Alexandria, Virginia
Located just outside of Washington, D.C., The National Women’s History Museum seeks to research, collect, maintain and educate on women’s cultural, academic, economic and political contributions and innovations in the context of world history. Their current online exhibitions include “The Women of NASA,” “Timeline: Women in the Olympics,” “Harriet Tubman” and more.
National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.
The National Gallery is one of the United States’ best museums and one of the best art museums in the world. NGA has extensive online resources and exhibits, including online tours. The museum is home to artworks from Raphael, Vermeer, Rubens, Lichtenstein and lots more. It famously houses Leonardo da Vinci’s Ginevra de’ Benci, the only Leonardo piece in the western hemisphere.
The Vatican Museums, the Vatican, Rome, Italy
The Vatican Museums contain incredible frescoes, tapestries and sculptures from Italian masters. Even today with museums opening back up to the public, places like the Vatican can still be difficult to visit. The Vatican Museums provide over a dozen 360° tours of stunning fresco-filled rooms to explore and read about.
The Natural History Museum, London, United Kingdom
Founded in 1881, the Natural History Museum in London strives to “create advocates for the planet.” There’s lots to do at the NHM; come face-to-face with a 3D modeled dinosaur, zoom in on the museum’s beetle collection or tour the whole museum online.
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, Netherlands
The Rijksmuseum focuses on collecting art from the Dutch masters. They take care in creating in-depth tours with museum guides and curators walking you through works of art. See masterpieces from Rembrandt, Vermeer, and Vincent van Gogh, and many more in the Rijksmuseum online exhibit “One Hundred Masterpieces.”Check out this interactive museum map from Google Arts & Culture to see many more online exhibits and museums.
