Louvre digitizes over 480,000 artworks, makes them free to view online
The Louvre announced it has digitized more than 480,000 pieces of art, allowing anyone with a smartphone or a computer to enjoy the museum’s collections without booking a ticket to Paris, FOX 29 reports.
Some of the Louvre’s most famous pieces of art will be viewable online completely free of charge, according to a March 26 news release.
"Today, the Louvre unveils its treasures, even the most unknown," Jean-Luc Martinez, president and director of the Louvre museum, said.
Art enthusiasts will be able to access thousands of pieces in the Louvre’s online archive. The museum will allow access to view pieces that are not only on display in the museum itself, but may have otherwise been in storage, on loan, or on deposit, according to the Louvre.
The Louvre estimates that about 482,000 pieces of art belonging to France’s national collections are accessible through its digitized collection database, collections.louvre.fr, but that’s only three-quarters of the entire archive.
The website was also recently revamped to allow translations in Spanish, English and Chinese for international visitors.
The digital archive is categorized by the type of art that is featured, and includes jewelry, sculptures and textiles. The website also allows extensive and detailed searches for anyone looking for a particular piece of art, as well as full-text descriptions of each piece.
"The beauty of our heritage is just a click away. I am convinced that this digital development will further increase the desire of our audiences to physically come to the Palais to discover the works in their materiality," Martinez said.
It’s uncertain when the famed Paris museum will reopen, after being closed to the public on Oct. 30 in line with the French government’s COVID-19 containment measures.
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