Every artist needs the motivation to carve out something new from himself. Ancient art is the best inspiration to learn and observe what they call ‘the art’. Or, on the other end, are you interested in going out for a vacation and want a good place to see in your dream city? The best way to learn about your dream city is to observe what the people thought in ancient times. This is where the art museums will guide you. Here are some of the famous art museums that have every artifact that you wanted to see.

Do go through the details for each of the fifteen most famous art museums. If you like one, then put it in your bucket list. Yay! There you go! Happy journey!

 

Tokyo National Museum

 

 

Are you a kind of art lover and wanted to see the cherry blossoms in the capital city of Japan? We know that the Japanese anime gives you chills and you are truly driven away by the culture of that country. Tokyo National Museum is one of the most famous and largest art museums in the world. It is situated in Ueno Park in Tokyo, Japan. It is said to be the oldest and the largest museum in Japan.

110,000 items are being preserved and displayed inside. These items include 87 national treasures of Japan, several hundreds of other treasures and around 600 important cultural properties. The main focus of the preservation is given to the art ancient and medieval my period of the country and even Asia. It also conducts research work and educational events that are related to the items kept inside.

This art museum has a history. It is said that the origin of this museum was the Shoheizaka Exhibition which was a public exhibition for the local people which was held by the Ministry of Education from 10th April to 30th April 1872.

There is not just a museum building inside the park, but several restaurants for the people to stay. The park itself creates a very beautiful scenery for the visitors to see.

 

• Musee du Louvre

 

 

Paris is famous for its Eiffel Tower. Is that it? It is such a beautiful city with all the historical art connections. Louvre Museum exhibits all of the artifacts that were produced in the country. It is the largest museum of the world which is situated on the Right Bank of the Seine. The item count of the artifacts kept inside the museum is 38,000. 

The history of this art museum is rather pretty royal. Louvre is situated inside the premises of the Louvre Palace which was originally built as Louvre castle. It was established in the 12th and 13th century under the reign of Philip Augustus or Philip II. It was taken as a universal museum since the year 1793 when it was first opened with an exhibition of 537 paintings.

The term universal is used for this museum as the collections it has been of huge worth. Also, the visitors that come to see the museum are of great diversity. The museum contains artifacts from ancient Egypt and majorly from the Nile civilization. It also exhibits the sculptures from the Greek and Roman establishments. Even the Islamic artifacts have their space in this museum. There are a huge number of the most famous paintings in the world. The oil painting of Mona Lisa (Leonardo da Vinci) is also exhibited here.

The area around the museum has a couple of shopping malls and food outlets too. Visiting this museum must be in your bucket list if you are interested in ancient art.

 

• Egyptian Museum

 

 

You already know a lot about mummies. You have been curiously reading stories and watching documentaries on the television about them since your childhood. Do you also want to see them in real life? For such a crazy desire, you can visit the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities or commonly known as the Egyptian Museum. It is one of the largest museums in the world and must travel.

There are a lot of artifacts preserved in the museum. The item count of all the antiquities kept in the museum is 120,000, that are exhibited in a batch, one by one. It is located in Cairo, Egypt which is situated in the Nile Delta. The Egyptian Museum was built in 1901. An Italian construction company, Garozzo-Zaffarani which used the design of a French architect. This museum has to be beautiful!

The first floor of the museum exhibits ancient coins from the Egyptian, Greek, Roman, and even Islamic kingdoms. They are made up of metals like silver, gold, and bronze. The ground floor also exhibits artifacts from the New Kingdom. These are larger and include enormous statues, tables, and coffins. The first floor exhibits the accessories related to the pharaohs of the Egyptian kingdom and their tombs. It includes their gold masks and their mummies. There are many artifacts from the Valley of Kings.

There are not many facilities near the museum but in Cairo, you can find a lot of places to rest and eat. It is worth a visit!

 

• Vatican Museums

 

 

Are you a fan of the Roman empire and you want to see the artistic creations belonging to that city? You should be visiting the Vatican museums. These are the Christian art museums. They are one of the largest museums and the fourth most visited museums in the world. No one will ever deny a vacation to Vatican City and if you are about to go there, do put these museums in the bucket list.

These museums have a range of Roman artifacts. The total item count of the art pieces preserved in the museums is 70,000 and out of that 20,000 are kept for the exhibiting purposes. Vatican museums are situated within the boundaries of the Vatican City inside Rome, Italy. The origin of the Vatican Museums is said to be the purchase of Roman sculpture in the sixteenth century. Pope Julius II is said to be the founder of these museums.

There is a range of museums each of them exhibiting different art forms. There are many sculpture galleries inside. The most famous sculptures in these galleries are a gilded bronze statue of Hercules, Sleeping Ariadne, bust of Menander, Barberini Candelabra, three graces, many masks and many more like the statue of Apollo and the nine muses. There are many inscriptions and stone pieces kept in the museum for the exhibition. Some ancient artifacts and archaeological pieces are also preserved in the museums like the vases, sarcophagus, bronzes and much more.

All in all, in the most beautiful places like Vatican City, when you want to fulfill your artistic desires like looking for inspiration from ancient art, Vatican Museums is worth a visit!

 

• Metropolitan Museum of Art

 

 

Are you thinking about visiting the United States of America? Then you must visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art, commonly called The Met. As famous as the country, it is the largest museum in the USA and the thirdly most visited museums in 2018.

The museum contains artifacts from a lot of places around the world. These artistic works count up to two million in number. These are exhibited in seventeen curatorial departments. It is located in New York City, USA. The museum was first opened in 1872 and the first collection that was exhibited in it was from the personal collection of John Taylor Johnston.

The collections of the museum include artifacts representing the beginning of the Neolithic period, unique bronze age objects, art forms from Africa and Oceania. It also preserves items belonging to Asian art. There are Egyptian artifacts and even pieces from the Islamic art culture.

This museum is a must-visit place.

 

• British Museum

 

 

Even the empire of the biggest colonizing country has a place that exhibits one of the purest art forms of a different era. The British Museum was the first national public museum of the world and has one of the biggest collections of artifacts.

It has a collection of around some eight million artworks and of course, it is the largest collection in the world with great comprehension. British museum is located in the Bloomsbury area of London, United Kingdom. The museum was established in 1753.

The collections mainly include the artworks from Egypt and Sudan that are placed in a different department. Another department belongs to the artworks from the empire of Greece and Rome. Then, there is a department with Islamic artifacts from the countries of the middle east. There is a separate department for prints and drawings. Several more departments exhibit the art forms of Asian culture and one with everything related to Britain.

With such a huge collection, you will surely gain a lot. If you want a trip to gain knowledge of art from over the world, then this museum is your destination.

 

• Uffizi Gallery

 

 

Another reason to visit the territories of Italy might be the museum called Uffizi Gallery. It is the most visited and one of the very important museums. It is also placed in one of the largest museums with the most valuable collections.

The collections are mainly from the period of the Italian renaissance with a count that is not aa huge as others. The Uffizi building was first built in 1560 and later in 1581, the upper floor exhibited paintings for the family members of the people who worked in the building. It is located in the Historic Centre of Florence in Tuscany, Italy.

The major artworks belong to Italian Renaissance art, featuring works by such masters of arts as Botticelli, Titian, Michelangelo, and da Vinci. These artworks are in the forms of sculptures, oil paintings, even costumes are exhibited. Some collections include modern art and even the jewels of the dukes.

Since it is the highly visited museum and loved by almost everyone then nobody will ever hesitate to visit this place once.

 

• Hermitage Museum

 

 

Another museum from the European continent is the Hermitage Museum. It is titled as the second-largest museum in the world. It has the largest collections of paintings in the world.

It has collections of artifacts from all over the world. These are in a count of around three million and a very small part of these comes in the display section. It is located in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Though it was founded in 1764 it was opened as a museum to the public in 1852.

The major part of the collection includes the Egyptian and the classical antiquities from the old German and Greek culture. Another collection includes prehistoric art which has artifacts even from the iron age. There are spaces for the Swiss, French, Italian and even the Russian art culture. This museum also exhibits jewels and decorative artifacts.

All these to see and you still wonder about it. You have to book a ticket for it.

 

• Museum of Modern Art

 

 

Apart from taking inspiration from the ancient art culture, you can switch up to modern art. Museum of Modern Art is recognized as one of the largest and the most influential modern art museums in the world.

The collection of artworks in the Museum of Modern at counts up to 150,000 individual pieces and added to that 22,000 films and 4 million film stills. It is located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. The museum was made public in 1929.

The collection of the paintings in the museum are all pieces of the modern way of drawing, sketching and painting by some famous modern artists. They also exhibit films. There is a library too which contains documents of modern and contemporary art from 1880 till present. There is also a section for architectural design.

If you want to enjoy a collection of modern art because ancient is too boring, then you can hit up to this place.

 

• National Palace Museum

 

 

One of the biggest contributors to the Asian art culture is Chinese artwork. The National Palace Museum is one of the largest museums in the world with the biggest collection of Chinese art forms.

The museum contains a collection of around 700,000 pieces of ancient Chinese artifacts and artworks. The origins of this museum are from the Palace Museum that was established in the Forbidden City in 1925. National Palace Museum is located in Chiayi County, Taiwan.

The collection of these museums includes pieces of Chinese art from Neolithic to modern age which covers almost 8,000 years. There are Chinese calligraphy, porcelain, bronzes, paintings, and other artifacts. The museum possesses treasures like ceramics, carvings, rare books and documents, metal works and several famous rulers.

Chinese culture, surely, is interesting to learn. If you are really into it, then this place is worth a shot.

 

• Guggenheim Museum Bilbao

 

 

Another modern art museum is located in Spain. Guggenheim Museum Bilbao is a museum that possesses a collection of modern artworks and has been identified as the largest museum in its country.

This museum was inaugurated by King Juan Carlos I in the year 1997. Since it is comparatively a new museum it contains a lesser number of artworks. At the time of inauguration, the item count was 250. It is situated alongside the Nervion River, in Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain.

This museum exhibits site-specific work by contemporary artists and promotes the work of Basque artists by displaying them in the museum. There is a lesser number of traditional artworks as compared to the installation work.

 

• National Museum of Anthropology

 

 

For the archaeological and anthropological artifacts, the National Museum of Anthropology should be considered. It is identified as the largest and most visited museum in Mexico.

The museum is located within Chapultepec Park in Mexico City. It was among the museums opened in the year 1964 by the then Mexican president.

The exhibition consists of the archaeological artifacts from several civilizations such as the Maya Civilization. The several pieces that are displayed in the museum are the Aztec Sunstone, the disc of Mictlantecuhtli, Teocalli of the sacred war, the statue of the Aztec goddess, and many more.

 

• Prado Museum

 

 

The Prado museum is said to have the world’s finest collection of European art from the 12th century to the 20th century. It is considered to be one of the greatest art museums in the world. It is even one of the most visited sites.

According to the item count it comprises of 8,200 drawings, 7,600 paintings, 4,800 prints, and 1,000 sculptures and added to it are some historic documents and artwork. It is the national art museum of Spain and is situated in central Madrid.

It has collections based on the former Spanish Royal collection and has the best collection of Spanish art. There are exhibitions of the artworks by Francisco Goya, Hieronymus Bosch, El Greco, Peter Paul Rubens, Titian, and Diego Velázquez which are some of the greatest artists.

 

• Rijksmuseum

 

 

Rijksmuseum is the national museum of Dutch dedicated to arts and history. It is the most visited museum in the Netherlands and the largest art museum in the country.

It was found in The Hague in the year 1798. The museum has a total collection of 1million objects and 8,000 are exhibited on the display. It is located in the Museum Square in the borough of Amsterdam South.

There is a painting exhibition depicting the Dutch Golden age with about 2,000 paintings. There is a collection of Asian artwork also.

 

• Acropolis Museum

 

 

Acropolis Museum is another archaeological museum. It possesses the findings from the archaeological sites in Acropolis in Athens.

This art museum was founded in 2003 and opened for the public in the year 2019. It consists of nearly 4,000 objects.

The main attraction of the museum is the frieze of the Parthenon is mounted on a structure with the same dimensions as the cell of the Parthenon, giving comprehensive viewing of every detail.

 

Conclusion

The history of art is rich. To experience it, art museums are perhaps, one of the best ways. Seeing that you read all the way through this blog, I assume that you are an art lover. For you, my dear reader, we have an article about the 50 most famous paintings in art history, and Art Movements throughout the history of art. You are sure to love them!