Claude Monet, Setting sun on the Seine at Lavacourt, winter effect, 1880. Petit Palais, Museum of Fine Arts of the City of Paris.
Paris Musées recently gave an exceptional gift to the public. By adding 100,000 digital images to the public domain via its online collection, they’ve given people around the world access to a wide range of masterpieces and important documents of history. The works are all held at fourteen Paris museums, including the Musée d’Art Moderne, Petit Palais, and the Catacombs. Now that these images are in the public domain, they are free and unrestricted for the public to download and use.
Fans of Impression and Post-Impressionism will find works from Claude Monet, Paul Cézanne, Auguste Renoir, Gustave Courbet, and more. Examples of early photography, as well as ancient coins, early cartoons and posters that will give history buffs a window into the past. For now, only 2D works are available to view online, where users can download a high-resolution image, as well as find vital information about the work and its history.
A boon for both researchers and virtual tourists looking to experience Paris from afar, the collection offers a lot to explore. As a guide, the Paris Musées has organized several digital exhibitions to introduce you to some of the many works in their collections.
Here is a taste of the many impressive works now available online through Paris Musées.
