Among the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection, a Neolithic marble figurine, an ancient Mesoamerican Nayarit model home, and Claude Monet’s 1891 painting “Haystacks (Effect of Snow and Sun)” can now be explored in high-quality 3D scans from the comfort of your home. As part of an initiative to enhance access to its collection and scholarly resources, The Met released 100 scans of its artifacts for free on its website last week, according to a statement by Met Director and CEO Max Hollein shared with Hyperallergic. This is the inaugural set in a series of over 100 scans slated for public release.
Although The Met’s website already features images of thousands of artworks, these new 3D scans offer a unique opportunity to examine objects closely and from multiple perspectives, including through virtual reality headsets. Notably, nine models, such as Vincent van Gogh’s 1889 painting “Wheat Field with Cypresses,” were developed in partnership with Japan’s national broadcaster NHK using advanced photogrammetry and laser scanning technologies.
In November, The Met launched its first virtual reality experience with interactive tours of the Temple of Dendur and the Oceania galleries, which debuted last summer. “These digital experiences create new and engaging ways to interact with The Met’s collection,” Hollein stated, inviting global audiences to connect with the museum’s vast array of artworks.
Stella Kim, spokesperson for The Met, informed Hyperallergic that this initial suite of works has been scanned over the past decade. She also mentioned that the museum has been progressively increasing the number of objects it digitizes in 3D every year. However, Kim did not disclose the total number of digital scans planned for release from The Met’s expansive collection of 1.5 million items.
