Closed amid the coronavirus pandemic, the Louvre museum has put its entire art collection online for anyone to view for free. The Paris-based museum’s collections include pieces like the “Mona Lisa,” “Venus de Milo,” and “Winged Victory.”
According to Travel + Leisure, more than 480,000 works of art have been made available for viewing. Aside from the Louvre, the new database contains art from Musée National Eugène-Delacroix and sculptures from Tuileries and Carrousel gardens. Online viewers will also have the ability to view Musées Nationaux Récupération or National Museums Recovery works that were recovered following WWII and entrusted to the Louvre until they can be reunited with their original owners.
Users can search for a particular work of art or browse the museum room by room on an interactive map. Collections can also be browsed by theme, or viewers can follow a themed collection created by the museum’s curatorial department.
“Today, the Louvre is dusting off its treasures, even the least-known,” said President-Director of the Musée du Louvre, Jean-Luc Martinez, in a news release. “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. The Louvre’s stunning cultural heritage is all now just a click away!”
