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List of Online Excursions to Visit
Fun
List of Online Excursions to Visit
4310
Kira Shmeleva
Author: Kira Shmeleva
Translation: Inna Guseva
27.08.2020

Covid-19 pandemic continues to influence our daily routines but we try to stay positive all together. Recently we created a list of movies and TV shows to watch during the lockdown and another one that includes interesting online courses you could join. Today we want to share a list of online excursions offered by museums all over the world to keep you entertained.

*An important note: you should have Flash Player for the access to several of them.

Leventis Art Gallery in Nicosia

Leventis Art Gallery in Nicosia

It is a collection of more than 800 works by Cypriot, Greek and European artists that was opened in 2014. This art gallery is the “youngest” museum on the list. Here is an article by Evgeniya Kondakova-Theodorou where she goes into detail about one of the leading art collections in Cyprus.

The gallery staff organized a number of events on Facebook and Instagram during the quarantine under the general title «I stay home — I stay with art». You can see all the related posts by searching #IStayHome_IStayWithArt hashtag or follow the gallery page in social media — @agleventisgallery.

Kato Pafos Archaeological Park / Pafos UNESCO Park

Kato Pafos Archaeological Park / Pafos UNESCO Park

It is an open-air museum that is located not far from the Kato Pafos harbour. This museum-park is a part of UNESCO World Heritage. You can read more about it in this article by Evgeniya Kondakova-Theodorou.

UNESCO developed an App that is called Pafos UNESCO Park special for the tourists. Along with articles and photographs of the archaeological park it includes also audio and video lectures you can watch and listen to without leaving your home.

The App is available both for iOS and Android.

Louvre Museum

Louvre Museum

Louvre Museum is the most popular art museum in the world and also it is the first public museum that was opened for the audience in 1793 during the French Revolution. It is one of the oldest museums as well with a rich history of collecting French art and historical relics — its collections cover many different geographical areas and time periods: from the West Europe to Iran through Greece, Egypt and Middle East; from the Antiquity to the year 1848. The iconic glass pyramid of Louvre is a modern replica of Cheops Pyramid and the Egyptology as a science was emerged due to the findings that are part of museum’s collection of Egyptian Antiquities now.

“Louvre” is translated from French as “The wolf forest”; the palace was built on the former site of hunting ground and inherited both the place and the name.

You have a chance to walk through the exhibition halls of one of the biggest museums in the world by visiting this page or by clicking here.

British Museum

British Museum

It is the main historical and archeological museum of the Great Britain that was founded in 1753. Three collections form its foundation: one collection that was bequeathed to the nation by a British physician and naturalist Hans Sloane, the second one — gathered by Count Robert Harley and the third one is a library once owned by Sir Robert Bruce Cotton that is also the basis of The British Library. By the way, The British Museum was exactly the place where famous street artist Banksy secretly put his artwork with a cave man pushing a supermarket trolley in 2005. The painting was discovered and removed only after few days and called “a temporary exhibit”.

You can find all the links about the available online excursions on the blog of The British Museum.

Museum of Art History / Museum of Fine Arts in Vienna

Museum of Art History / Museum of Fine Arts in Vienna

The museum was opened in 1891 right in front of the identical looking building of Natural History Museum that is located on Maria-Theresia-Platz (a large public square) in the old town. Except the art collection that includes works of Bruegel, Veronese and Titian there is also a numismatic collection in the museum. The ground floor devoted to the very first cabinet of curiosities in the Middle Europe — the earliest records of it are dated back to 1550.

This website will help you to experience the most memorable exhibitions of Museum of Art history.

Metropolitan Museum

Metropolitan Museum

It is one of the biggest museums of the world that was opened in 1872. Anna Wintour (chief redactor of Vogue magazine) costume Centre that houses the collection of the Costume Institute became a part of Metropolitan Museum in 1937. It is well known in the first place for the Met Gala ball that is held in New York annually since 1948 to raise money for Metropolitan Museum. Met Gala is the highlight that marks the opening of the Costume Institute’s annual fashion exhibition.

Take an online excursion through the exhibition halls of Metropolitan Museum here.

Smithsonian American Art Museum

Smithsonian American Art Museum

This museum houses one of the biggest and most representative collections of American art from colonial period till modern times. Smithsonian American Art Museum also takes a special place in the American history — an inauguration of Abraham Lincoln took place in one of its halls back in 1865. The Museum implemented the world's first museum-based Alternate Reality game titled “Ghosts of a Chance” in 2008.

Enjoy all online exhibitions of Smithsonian American Art Museum here.

National Museum in Krakow

National Museum in Krakow

It is the oldest state museum in Poland that was built in 1879. National Museum in Krakow boasts by original Da Vinci painting — “Lady with an ermine”; there are only five cities in the world where Da Vinci works are exhibited.

You will have the opportunity to see “Lady with an ermine” and many other artworks of the museum by visiting this website.

Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest

Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest

The collection of the museum that includes fine examples of foreign artworks is the biggest in Hungary. The museum was built in 1896 and designed by two architects: Albert Schickedanz and Fülöp Herzog. Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest often houses different temporary exhibitions of such famous museums as Louvre for example.

You can take a walk in this museum here.

The Uffizi Galleries

The Uffizi Galleries

The Uffizi Galleries is one of the oldest European museums — it was founded in 1581 by order of the duke Cosimo I de’Medici. It was opened to public right after finishing the building. A long enclosed passageway called the Vasari Corridor goes along the gallery; it was built in 1565 so that the prince could leave the palace and go to the city privately.

You can dig through the online archives of Uffizi Galleries by using this website.

The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum

The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum

The museum was founded by a collector and patron of the arts — Solomon Guggenheim in 1937. It houses one of the world oldest collections of modern art; not only the paintings but also sculptures, photographs and even artworks of postimpressionists created in the end of XIX century. The building itself was designed in a style that is radically different from those the traditional museums have: the exhibition space under the illuminated glass dome is a six-floor spiral that “spins” around the open centre. It feels like paintings are leaving their places on the walls and floating in the air (the optic illusion created by inclined surface of the walls and hidden metal brackets holding the artworks).

Here you can see one of the biggest online collections of the Solomon Guggenheim Museum.

The Museum of Modern Art in New York

The Museum of Modern Art in New York

This museum is a benchmark for modern art — its collection includes artworks, without which it’s impossible to imagine the history of art in XX century. The museum was founded in 1928 under the patronage of the Rockefeller family. The building has two underground levels occupied by cinemas. Don’t hesitate to go there and watch the movies once you are in the museum — the cost of the cinema ticket is already included to the entrance fee. By the way, the famous open-air sculpture garden of MoMA that is located in the atrium is also a popular place to visit during the warm season.

The online collection of the museum counts more than 86 thousand modern artworks.

Museo del Prado / The Prado Museum

Museo del Prado / The Prado Museum

It is one of the most influential museums of European art. The building itself is a monument of later classicism. Pablo Picasso, the world famous artist, was the director of the museum from 1936 and till the end of the Spanish Civil War.

Here is the collection of photographs representing more than 11 thousand artworks.

Van Gogh Museum

Van Gogh Museum

Located in Amsterdam, this museum houses the world biggest collection of Vincent Van Gogh paintings and those of his contemporaries: Georges Seurat, Paul Gauguin, Pablo Picasso, Claude Monet, Paul Signac, and Henry de Toulouse-Lautrec. The exposition arranged in a chronological order that allows following the changes in style, vision and mood of the painter. Among other exhibits there are also a palette and colours that once belonged to Vincent Van Gogh.

You can take a walk through the museum halls and look closely at every artwork here.

Dali Theatre and Museum

Dali Theatre and Museum

The Museum of famous surrealist painter is located inside the old town theatre building where 14 years old Dali exhibited his artworks for the first time back in 1918. In 1954 Salvador Dali decided to renovate the theatre building that was damaged during the Civil War in 1936 and establish a museum in it. An interesting note: Salvador Dali personally selected the music that is currently played in the theatre-museum. Among other compositions there are “Tristan and Isolde” opera by Wagner, one of the favourite composers of the artist, “The Pearl Fishers” by Georges Bizet and excerpts of the liturgical drama “Elche Mystery Play”.

Visit the museum and take your time to see all the finest details of the artworks by clicking this link.

Hermitage Museum

Hermitage Museum

Hermitage is the biggest museum in Russia and second biggest art museum in the world that started as a private collection of Catherine the Great back then. It includes about 3 millions of exhibits beginning from the Stone Age and ending with modern times. This museum is also remarkable because of its current inhabitants — cats of Hermitage who live there and protect the artworks from mice.

Nowadays Hermitage is closed for the visitors because of the pandemic, but museum staff provides online translations showing the halls and expositions including film screenings and lectures. You can follow the translations daily from 10.30 to 18.00 Moscow time (according the museums opening hours) on the website Online.hermitage.

Here is another useful link for those who want to experience a famous 5-hour long one-take “journey” through Hermitage museum made with iPhone 11 Pro.

The State Tretyakov Gallery

The State Tretyakov Gallery

It is a Moscow art museum that was founded by a merchant Pavel Tretyakov in 1856. His dream was to create a national museum that will house artworks of Russian artists. The day when first two paintings were bought: “The Temptation” by Nikolay Shilder and “Finnish Smugglers” by Vasily Khudyakov is considered as the foundation date of the museum.

You can take a virtual walk in the Tretyakov Gallery by following this link.

The State Russian Museum

The State Russian Museum

The museum was founded in 1895 by order of Nicholas the II of Russia and has the biggest collection of Russian art in the world. Before the year 1917 it was known as Russian Museum of Emperor Alexander III who had an idea to create a museum of Russian art. By the way, did you know there is a branch of this museum even in Spain? The Russian Museum and exhibition centre was opened in Malaga in 2015.

Take one of online excursions of Russian Museum here.

Garage Museum of Contemporary Art

Garage Museum of Contemporary Art

It is a Russian museum of contemporary art that was founded by Daria Zhukova and Roman Abramovich in 2008. “Garage” often houses several exhibitions by different artists at the same time. The most interesting but unfortunately not available during the quarantine part of it is the section with interactive exhibits, which you not only could but should touch.

Online life of the Garage Museum — is a kind of experiment and an attempt to create the new ways of interaction between the museum, artists and visitors.

“Open museum” project

“Open museum” project

The “Open museum” is a collaboration project of the TV channel “Russia. Culture” together with other foreign museums. It is a series of video excursions moderated by many remarkable art historians. You will not only see the famous artworks but also “visit” director’s offices, museum’s depositaries and other rooms that usually stay closed for the public.

Telegram channel “The art of hearing”

It is a virtual guide through the world of art; every day there is a new painting represented on the channel together with the accompanying short lecture about it. Degas, Van Gogh, Renoir, Manet, Picasso, Titian — you will definitely find the works of your favourite painters there and what is more — you will find out what makes them masterpieces.

 

So, it is not necessary to go outside if you are searching for new experience or knowledge nowadays. Maybe you have long wanted to take in the arts but never taken the time or the opportunity to do it, so don’t miss your chance now. Take care, stay home and visit the most beautiful museums at the same time.