By Klara Melvin, Y12
As COVID-19 has become an increasingly large issue around the world, more and more people are restricted to the confinements of their homes. As a result, many of the activities people took for granted have been prohibited or shut down – such as visiting museums. Many museums have now created online walking tours so people still have access to the artwork on display.
Guggenheim, Bilbao
Founded in 1997, the museum of Guggenheim was designed by Frank Gehry made out of glass and titanium and was known as the most important building in its time.
The museum carries a vast collection of modern art; most notably Edgar Degas, “Spanish Dance” and Edouard Manet, “Before the Mirror”.
The virtual tour has many different aspects depending on the viewers preferences. Although virtual tours may not be as impactful as being able to see an individual art piece face to face, it provides insight on how Guggenheim exhibited the pieces in a monument to modernism. It shows the building itself and its architectural aspects, which are crucial to the exhibition’s unique forum for the presentation of modern art. The tour itself is not as in depth as it has potential for and is quite difficult to navigate through.
Rating: 7/10
Vatican Museum, Rome
Founded in 1973 at the request of Pope Paul the VI, the Vatican Museum has a vast collection of art gathered through the centuries by the Popes.
The Vatican museum has one of the greatest collections of art through time, most famously the Sistine chapel, the Tapestrie Hall, The Maps Room and Raphael’s School of Athens.
The virtual tour for the Vatican Museum has numerous options for the visitor to explore. Each tour was set up in a 360 visual, in which the visitor could explore the rooms as if they were walking through each of them. As many of the ceilings are high and several art pieces extend all the way up to the roof, the tour gives the opportunity for the visitors to zoom into every inch of the museum. This almost creates the same feeling as visiting the museum in person. This website was very easy to understand and presented the most famous tours directly on the first page. I can recommend a virtual visit to everyone interested in art.
Rating: 10/10
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
Opened in 1973 design by Gerrit Rietveld is a world famous museum focused around the life of Van Gogh. As one of the most famous artists of all time this museum used to be a very popular visit for many tourists.
The Van Gogh museum has carried some of the most famous works of art in the world including Head of a skeleton with a burning cigarette Vincent van Gogh 1886 and Self-portrait with grey felt hat by Vincent van Gogh 1887.
This virtual visit offers the full experience of the museum, with a walk through of the entire building. The museum consists of four floors which go through the different stages of Van Gogh’s life and art pieces. This visit offers a closer look at the art in the museum than an actual visit as you can zoom into each art piece. This website was very easy to understand but the actual use of the controls were a bit tricky.
9/10
Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art, New York
Opened to the public in 1870 the museum of Metropolitan art has a large collection of different historical pieces including art, sculpture and antiques from all over the world.
The Metropolitan museum of Art has a large selection of different historical pieces including Antonio Canova’s sculpture the Venus Italica, The Sphinx of Hatshepsut and Mary Cassatt’s painting Young Mother Sewing.
The virtual tour of the Metropolitan differs from the other online museums as it is set up with pieces sorted through time instead of a walk through of each room. This museum which has a large collection of ancient pieces has created a timeline where each piece is represented. When one piece is selected you can read about the piece or even listen to a short audio file which explains the item. This website is not super easy to navigate but it does offer a wide variety of interesting information on each piece.
10/10
