From Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa to the French Crown Jewels, you can now immerse yourself into the Louvre’s extensive world of art and history from the comfort of your home — for free.
Paris’ famed museum has recently announced that, while its doors remain closed due to the pandemic, it will soon have more visitors than ever thanks to a new project that digitized its entire art collection, making it available to everyone with an internet connection.
As part of the initiative, more than 480,000 items from the French museum as well as other art institutions, such as the British Museum and the archeological museum of Heraklion, will be made available online for art lovers and history buffs to explore. Alongside each item, information such as title, artist, date, and place of production will be displayed.
“The Louvre is dusting off its treasures, even the least-known,” said Jean-Luc Martinez, the museum’s director. “For the first time, anyone can access the entire collection of works from a computer or smartphone for free, whether they are on display in the museum, on loan, even long-term, or in storage.
In addition to sharing art during the pandemic, the virtual collection also gives those without the means or access to the museum a chance to explore the treasures within it.
Those interested in exploring the virtual collection can search art pieces by department or theme, and there’s also an interactive map that allows visitors to explore the building room by room. The virtual visits are available in English, French, Spanish, and Chinese. If you want to check it out, head over here to check out the museum’s breathtaking collection.
