In the age of the internet, we’re fortunate to have virtual access to museum collections around the world, thanks to objects in the public domain and programs like The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Open Access Initiative. Through a searchable digital catalogue, visitors to the museum’s website can see hundreds of thousands of objects, many images of which are available for download. And it’s not alone—other institutions like the Art Institute of Chicago, The National Gallery of Art, and The Cleveland Museum of Art, among others, make pieces in their collections accessible to all.
The thing is, digital images don’t always give us the full picture, so to speak. Even two-dimensional paintings and drawings have unique textures, structural details, and materials that we can only really appreciate in person. This won’t ever really change—nothing beats the real thing. But one caveat is that even in person, much of the work remains hidden. We can’t see the backs of oil paintings, for example, and edges are often hidden within frames. Thanks to The Met’s continued emphasis on imaging, we can now experience every detail in three-dimensional renderings of nearly 140 significant objects in its holdings.
The Met is home to a whopping 1.5 million historic objects, which range from the iconic Temple of Dendur and Impressionist paintings to African tribal ceremonial sculptures and medieval pottery. The museum recently published 3D models of some of these, plus numerous other objects, including nine produced in collaboration with NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation).
With careful attention to technical precision and color, these animated renderings are research-grade tools, allowing us to see the objects at any angle. View van Gogh’s brushstrokes closer than you’re allowed to in a museum, zoom in on a Babylonian cuneiform tablet, and turn an 18th-century Turkish tile over to see its reverse side.
The Met plans to continue adding 3D scans to its online library. Explore more on the museum’s website.
