Museums in the Times of the Corona

With so many museums already closed courtesy of COVID-19, and many more about to close in the coming days, many of them are working hard to make sure their art remains available, and their collections open. Some are offering virtual tours, others – adding to their collections already available online, others still – offering online courses on history of art. So my good friend and colleague Michael Peregudov and I thought we’d compile a short list (though who are we kidding, it could never be too short), to keep you busy and inspired, and to try and make this confinement just that little bit easier on everyone.

So, once again, explore, enjoy, and #uncrownthevirus.

Austria

Vienna

Albertina

https://artivive.com/albertina/

KHM

https://www.khm.at/en/objectdb/

The Once In A Lifetime Bruegel exhibition website is also still online:

https://www.bruegel2018.at/

MUMOK (contemporary art)

https://www.mumok.at/en/collection/online-collection

Belgium

Brussels

The Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium would like to assure everyone that their doors remain “digitally open”, and much of the collection is available on-line.

https://www.fine-arts-museum.be/en/the-collection

In part, this is all thanks to their Digital Museum, a project that was created with the digitization of the collections of the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, and helps provide public online access to the collections via, for example, the Fabritius catalogue:

https://www.fine-arts-museum.be/en/research/the-digital-museum

http://www.opac-fabritius.be/fr/begin.htm

Musée Magritte

https://musee-magritte-museum.be/en/about-the-museum/collections-mmm/art-collection

For collection in detail please use the link below:

https://www.fine-arts-museum.be/fr/la-collection/artist/magritte-rene-1?string=magritte

Or, once again, the Fabritius catalogus:

http://www.opac-fabritius.be/fr/begin.htm

MIM The Museum of Musical Instruments

http://www.mim.be/mim-catalogue

The museum’s collection is accessible online via Carmentis, the catalogue of the Royal Museums of Art and History. If you only want to consult Carmentis’ mim catalogue, go to the heading “Extended search” and select “Musical instruments collection” in the “Collection” menu:

https://www.carmentis.be/eMP/eMuseumPlus

MIMO Musical Instruments Museum Online

Another related link is for MIMO, or Musical Instrument Museums Online, a platform that provides online access to the collections of eleven of Europe’s musical instruments museums, including the MIM. For the MIM, MIMO draws on Carmentis.

MIMO currently provides information about some 45,000 musical instruments in seven European languages. MIMO allows you to listen to sound recordings of some 50 MIM objects.

https://mimo-international.com/MIMO/

Ghent

The Van Eyck Exhibition

http://closertovaneyck.be/

MSK

https://www.mskgent.be/en/collection

Design Museum

https://www.designmuseumgent.be/en/collection

Denmark

Copenhagen

Staten Museum for Kunst

While the museum is closed, an impressive collection of its art in detail is available online, together with explanatory texts, images and 3D scans:

https://open.smk.dk/en/

France

Bayeux

The Bayeux Tapestry

Good writing available on the website together with some photos:

https://www.bayeuxmuseum.com/en/the-bayeux-tapestry/discover-the-bayeux-tapestry/what-is-the-bayeux-tapestry-about/

And a video to go with. Make that two:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8OPQ_28mdo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnieUa2-22o

Colmar

Although not much of the museum’s collection is available online, The famous Altarpiece of Issenheim is, and that in itself is a rare treat:

https://www.musee-unterlinden.com/en/categorie_oeuvre/the-altarpiece-of-issenheim/

Lyon

Musée des Tissus already has some of its collection available online, but is planning to publish even more materials shortly, since the museum is now closed for regular visits.

https://www.museedestissus.fr/collections/

Paris

Le Louvre

https://www.louvre.fr/en/visites-en-ligne

The museum has also made available several tours of La Petite Gallerie and select exhibitions, like this one, for example:

https://petitegalerie.louvre.fr/visite-virtuelle/saison5/

Musée d’Orsay

https://www.musee-orsay.fr/fr/collections/catalogue-des-oeuvres/recherche-simple.html

https://artsandculture.google.com/partner/musee-dorsay-paris?hl=en

Centre Pompidou

https://www.centrepompidou.fr/fr/Collections/Chefs-d-oeuvre

Sainte-Chapelle

Even if you can’t make it to Paris this spring, you can still enjoy the incredible stained glass windows of Sainte-Chapelle thanks to the video available on their website:

http://www.sainte-chapelle.fr/Explorer/Le-monument-en-video

You can also take a sneak peak inside while you’re at it (via Google Arts & Culture):

https://artsandculture.google.com/partner/palace-of-versailles

And the Paris Musées website has more than 50 000 reproductions for you to feast on, as well as several thematic blocks, such as “Paris in the 1900s”, “Portraits”, “Fashion in Sports” etc.

http://parismuseescollections.paris.fr/fr/parcours-thematiques

Strasbourg

Musée de l’Oeuvre Notre-Dame

Sadly, not the entire collection, not even close, but here you can at least see some of the most treasured chefs-d’oeuvres in the museum’s collection:

https://www.musees.strasbourg.eu/chefs-oeuvre-musee-oeuvre-notre-dame

Finland

Helsinki

Ateneum

https://ateneum.fi/collections/?lang=en

Video commentary now available about some paintings from the collection

https://ateneum.fi/nayttelyt-nyt/stories-of-finnish-art-short-films/?lang=en

Germany

Let’s start with a link to a huge object database from various museums across Germany. But you have to read German to navigate there.

https://www.museum-digital.de/

Berlin

GDR Museum

https://www.ddr-museum.de/en/collection/exhibition

Its Objects Database (Simply awesome, one can spent hours digging there.)

https://www.ddr-museum.de/en/objects

Museum Island (via Google Arts & Culture)

https://artsandculture.google.com/project/museum-island-berlin?hl=en

Alte Nationalgalerie (via Google Arts & Culture)

https://artsandculture.google.com/partner/alte-nationalgalerie-staatliche-museen-zu-berlin?hl=en

Berlin State Museums (SMB) Online Collections Database

http://www.smb-digital.de/eMuseumPlus?service=ExternalInterface&lang=en

Berlinische Galerie

https://berlinischegalerie.de/en/collection/collection-online/

German Historical Museum (DHM)

https://www.dhm.de/en/collections-research/sammlungen00.html

Checkpoint Charlie (Berlin Wall)

https://www.mauermuseum.de/en/exhibition/collection/

Darmstadt

Mathildenhöhe (Art Nouveau)

https://www.mathildenhoehe.eu/homepage/

Hessisches Landesmuseum

https://www.hlmd.de/en/museum/art-and-cultural-history.html

Dresden

Staatliche Kunstsammlungen (Old & New Masters, Albertinum is also there)

https://skd-online-collection.skd.museum/

Frankfurt/Main

Städel

https://www.staedelmuseum.de/en/digital-offers

Schirn Kunsthalle (limited to Fantastic Women exhibition)

https://schirn.de/fantastischefrauen/digitorial/en/

Halle

Kunstmuseum Moritzburg

https://www.kunstmuseum-moritzburg.de/en/research-collections/the-collections/

Munich

Lenbachhaus

https://www.lenbachhaus.de/en/discover/collection-online

Pinakotheken (all three of them)

https://www.sammlung.pinakothek.de/en/

Wiesbaden

Kunstmuseum

https://museum-wiesbaden.de/en/permanent-exhibition-art

Zwickau (That’s the town, where they used to produce Trabant cars in the GDR.)

Kunstsammlungen Zwickau (limited to the exhibition about Saxony’s industrial heritage in art)

https://www.kunstsammlungen-zwickau.de/de/ausstellungen/sonderausstellung.php

Greece

Athens

National Archaeological Museum

https://www.namuseum.gr/en/collections/

Hungary

Budapest

The Museum of Fine Arts (via Google Arts & Culture)

https://artsandculture.google.com/streetview/museum-of-fine-arts-budapest/vAGtwHz9y0mvCg?sv_lng=19.07653406128713&sv_lat=47.51634341661228&sv_h=1&sv_p=0&sv_pid=rlUxEVqZx7J9pqLK8PdH8Q&sv_z=1

Holy See

Musei Vaticani

http://www.museivaticani.va/content/museivaticani/it/collezioni/catalogo-online.html

Including a virtual tour of the Sistine Chapel, and since you’re not allowed to take photos when you visit anyway, we thought that would definitely be a highlight:

http://www.museivaticani.va/content/museivaticani/en/collezioni/musei/cappella-sistina/tour-virtuale.html

Italy

Florence

Le Gallerie degli Uffizi

https://www.uffizi.it/mostre-virtuali

Milan

Pinacoteca di Brera

https://pinacotecabrera.org/en/

Rome

Chiesa di Sant’Ignazio

Maybe this isn’t ideal, but if you can’t go to Rome, this is probably the next best thing, and you can still see that amazing ceiling:

https://santignazio.gesuiti.it/opere-arte-chiesa/

And several virtual tours of other sights and museums are available here:

https://www.romeandart.eu/en/art-museums-virtual-rome.html

The Netherlands

Amsterdam

Rijksmuseum

Even though the museum is temporarily closed you can still enjoy the collection! Just visit Rijksstudio to view over 700,000 works of art, and follow the museum on social media for a virtual tour of the Rijksmuseum, or even a painting tutorial.

https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/rijksstudio?utm_campaign=uitnodiging&utm_medium=email&utm_source=20200318_NB_maart_Corona_%28ENG%29

They also have a “10 Things you may not know…” section on their website, that tells you interesting and carefully curated facts about different works of art, masters, and even entire movements, be it Early Baroque, Rembrandt’s The Night Watch, or Petronella’s dolls’ house.

https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/rijks-stories/10-things?utm_campaign=uitnodiging&utm_medium=email&utm_source=20200318_NB_maart_Corona_%28ENG%29

The Van Gogh Museum

https://360stories.com/amsterdam/point/van-gogh-museum

The Hague

Mauritshuis

https://www.mauritshuis.nl/en/discover/mauritshuis-at-home/

Poland

Krakow

The National Museum (via Google Arts & Culture)

https://artsandculture.google.com/streetview/the-erazm-cio%C5%82ek-palace-art-of-old-poland-the-12th-18th-century/PQHNNphnMmTWcg

Portugal

While they don’t exactly offer virtual tours, both the MNAA (Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga) and Museu Berardo have some of the highlights of their collections available online:

http://museudearteantiga.pt/collections

https://pt.museuberardo.pt/colecao/obras

Russia

Moscow

Tretyakov Gallery

https://www.tretyakovgallery.ru/en/collection/

https://moskvichmag.ru/gorod/tretyakovka-vykladyvaet-onlajn-pochti-vse-svoi-vystavki-blokbastery-s-2015-goda/

Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts

https://pushkinmuseum.art/exposition_collection/index.php?lang=en

Museum of Russian Impressionism (You have to read Russian, on the other other hand you’ll land straight on the page with the paintings, if you go to the link. The rest is more or less self-explanatory.)

http://www.rusimp.su/ru/collection

Saint Petersburg

The Hermitage

https://www.hermitagemuseum.org/wps/portal/hermitage/explore/

Russian Museum

http://en.rusmuseum.ru/collections/

The Kunstkamera Museum offers both virtual tours and online access to its collections:

http://tour.kunstkamera.ru/#1241881465

http://collection.kunstkamera.ru/

Naval Museum

http://eng.navalmuseum.ru/collection

And if you miss the city itself or feel in need of some inspiration for your next visit, which we hope will happen before it’s too long, here’s a beautiful time-lapse video, featuring Tosca, the famous White Night, and all the main sights.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGC_fAkApY4

Spain

Barcelona

Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya has at least a dozen virtual tours available on their website:

https://www.museunacional.cat/en/virtual-tours

You can also take a virtual tour of the Sagrada Familia:

https://sagradafamilia.org/visita-virtual

Bilbao

While it’s closed the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao is also offering several tours and exhibitions online:

https://www.guggenheim-bilbao.eus/en/guggenheimbilbaolive

Figueres

Fundació Gala – Salvador Dalí

You can now take a virtual tour of the Salvador Dali Theatre-Museum:

https://www.salvador-dali.org/en/museums/dali-theatre-museum-in-figueres/visita-virtual/

Madrid

Museo del Prado

https://www.museodelprado.es/en/the-collection/art-works

The Prado Museum is also offering several new courses on history of art, like these new

MOOCs on Bosch and Velasquez:

El Bosco en el Museo del Prado

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLAXbYLM6vo&feature=emb_logo

Velázquez en el Museo del Prado

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2sGqgufHuY&feature=emb_logo

Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza

https://www.museothyssen.org/en/collection

Malaga

Museo Picasso Málaga

Their website offers a selection of art works by Pablo Picasso, presented as a chronological tour of the museum’s New Collection.

https://www.museopicassomalaga.org/en/new-collection

You can also enjoy access to the Otero Photographic Archive

https://www.museopicassomalaga.org/en/otero-archive

Switzerland

Basel

Kunstmuseum

http://sammlungonline.kunstmuseumbasel.ch/eMuseumPlus

Geneva

MAH Musée d’Art et d’Histoire de Genève

https://collections.geneve.ch/mah/

Musée Patek Philippe

Pure joy, especially the rare handcrafts section and the hummingbirds:

https://www.patek.com/en/collection/rare-handcrafts

 

UK

London

The British Museum

https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection

The Tate has quite a few of its artworks published online

https://www.tate.org.uk/search?type=artwork

Same goes for the Royal Academy of Arts…

https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/art-artists/search/search-the-collection

… and the National Gallery, that also offers virtual tours online, allowing its visitors to immerse themselves in Renaissance masterpieces from Northern Italy, the Netherlands, and Germany, including works by Titian, Veronese, and Holbein:

https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/visiting/virtual-tours

USA

Chicago

The Art Institute of Chicago (via Google Arts & Culture)

https://artsandculture.google.com/partner/the-art-institute-of-chicago

Culver City, CA

Wende Museum (If you are into history of the GDR, the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, they have a significant object database as well.)

http://www.wendemuseum.org/collections-overview

New York

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

https://www.metmuseum.org/blogs/now-at-the-met/2020/digital-digest

You should also check out the Met 360° Project

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/online-features/met-360-project

MOMA The Museum of Modern Art (via Google Arts & Culture)

https://artsandculture.google.com/partner/moma-the-museum-of-modern-art

Currently also features the Sophie Taeuber-Arp Exhibition

https://artsandculture.google.com/exhibit/sophie-taeuber-arp/swKioHNhYqZoLw

The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum

https://www.guggenheim.org/collection-online

Washington, D.C.

The National Gallery of Art

https://www.nga.gov/index.html

The Smithsonian

https://www.si.edu/museums

Some of the museums, like the National Air and Space Museum, have published collection samplers:

https://www.si.edu/museums/air-and-space-museum

We realize that this is a very Europe-centred list, and we know we’re missing a few continents, but we thought it would be a good place to start. And, if you have more links, please share them as well. It would be wonderful to see this thing grow.

And, if these links aren’t enough, just remember that Google’s Arts & Culture project, which began in 2011, allows internet users to explore the collections of 1,200 museums and archives around the world:

https://artsandculture.google.com/

Yours,

Tatiana & Michael