The best art galleries in the world. The most famous museums in the world

Sometimes people visit a country just to go to a museum. Are there still people who are sincerely interested in art? There are, and there are many of them. After all, by admiring the great painting and sculptural masterpieces, you can understand more deeply world history. We have collected the top of the world's largest museums that you should definitely visit.

Louvre

Even a child knows where the largest museum in the world is located. Of course, in France. The Louvre is the most big museum world, its area is 195 sq. m. It will take at least a week to get around this castle, which was built in 1190 for the French government. What can you admire in the Louvre? The museum is divided into 7 parts to make it easier to navigate. The largest and most visited part is the painting exhibition. World masterpieces are represented here by paintings by Titian, Vermeer, Rubens, Rembrandt and others. In the museum you can also admire masterpieces of world sculpture and decorative and applied arts. Greece, Rome, Egypt and the Ancient East are given separate parts of the museum.

Vatican Museum

Now let's move to Rome. Second place in the top of the largest museums in the world is occupied by the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel. Here a tourist can walk through 1,400 halls, in which there is the opportunity to contemplate 5,000 exhibits. But, of course, you won’t be able to get around the Vatican Museum in a day. Therefore, most tourists prefer to immediately go in search of the Sistine Chapel and Raphael’s room.

Hermitage

Everyone who comes to St. Petersburg should definitely visit Winter Palace. This is the main building of the Hermitage, which was given over to the museum in 1852. It was formed with the assistance of Catherine II, who replenished the collection with Western masterpieces. European art. The Hermitage is the largest museum in the world, its area is 223 square meters. m. The museum complex, in addition to the Winter Palace, includes 5 more buildings. It also has two branches: the Russian Museum and Peter’s Summer House. In the main building of the Hermitage you can admire masterpieces of world painting, represented by works by Leonardo da Vinci, Rembrandt, Matisse, and Titian. Separate parts of the museum are dedicated to sculpture, Roman, Greek and Egyptian art.

British museum

The two previous attractions of Russia and France can only boast exhibits of artistic value. But the world's largest museum in Britain is historical and archaeological. The basis of his collection was laid by Hans Sloan, Robert Harley and Robert Cotton. These people different professions and classes had a common passion for collecting. That is why the museum’s collection was immediately replenished with antiques, works of art and rare stuffed animals. Today the British Museum is divided into sectors. Here you can find geological, zoological, numismatic, and mineralogical departments.

Egyptian Museum

Art as such originated in Greece, and it was this art that all civilized countries took as a basis. Everything except Egypt. There their own original art was created. And that is why today, when you go to any major museum, be it the Louvre or the Hermitage, you can find entire departments dedicated to Egypt. His legacy is considered so unique. But the world's largest museum dedicated to pharaohs, mummies and pyramids can be found in Cairo. It was officially opened only in 1900. The museum is a two-story building, the exhibits of which are presented in one hundred halls. Does the area seem very small? But it will take three whole days to briefly examine all the exhibits.

Metropolitan Museum of Art

What can unite people of different nationalities, beliefs, ages and hobbies? One of the world's largest museums is the Metropolitan in New York. It contains exhibits that are Paleolithic artifacts, a collection of weapons and pop art items. Tourists can admire the art of Africa, Egypt, the East and Oceania. In addition to painting, sculpture and arts and crafts, the Met houses clothing. Costumes of people of past centuries are collected from 5 continents.

National Museum in Japan

The Land of the Rising Sun has a distinctive culture and greatly values ​​the objects of its manifestation. Therefore, if you think about what is the largest museum in the world presenting natural science exhibits, then you can safely point to the National Science Museum of Japan. Here you can look at stuffed dinosaurs, as well as study the skeletons of our ancestors. The botanical garden presents almost all varieties of plants that live on our planet.

Museum in Amsterdam

If you are planning to travel to the Netherlands, then you should definitely visit their capital. It contains State Museum Amsterdam. This magnificent building contains more than a million objects from which you can study Dutch art. Dutch artists Rembrandt, Hals, Vermeer and others are represented here. Also in the museum you can look at household items, sculptures, engravings and finds from archaeological excavations.

Tretyakov Gallery

Pavel Tretyakov's collection is one of the largest in the world. It was the collection of this famous Moscow philanthropist that laid the foundation for the modern museum exhibition. The Tretyakov Gallery was the first in the capital open to the general public. In 1893, after the death of Tretyakov, the museum became public, and in 1918 it was nationalized. During the Great Patriotic War the exhibits were evacuated to Molotov and Novosibirsk, so nothing was damaged. Today the museum is considered the largest in the Russian capital. The collections contain icons by Rublev, paintings by Shishkin, Aivazovsky, Repin. The Tretyakov Gallery often hosts temporary exhibitions, and also hosts festivals and other cultural events.

Prado Museum

Madrid can boast interesting story opening one of its main attractions. The Prado Museum was completed over the course of 11 years after its official opening. Today they are stored here famous masterpieces world art, and previously the museum’s exhibits were a private collection of the royal family. The art of Spain was formed under the influence of the church, so most of the exhibition is occupied by paintings of a religious nature.

Some interesting information about museums.

1. The largest number of archaeological museums in the world is represented in Israel. Why there? Because there are more of them per capita than in other countries.
2. The first museum created from nationalized collections was the Tretyakov Gallery.
3. The largest museum in the world by area is the Louvre.
4. Within the walls of the museum natural history, which is located in the USA in New York, many films were filmed. The most famous of them is Night at the Museum.
5. There is a Museum of Death in Hollywood. It features works and photographs taken by serial killers.
6. In 1981, the Water Museum was created in Kharkov. Here tourists and city residents can get acquainted not with all the world's sources of fresh water on Earth, but with the history of local sewage systems. Also, everyone can look at the development of plumbing. The main task of the institution is to make people care about environment, because this is where the water for the local water supply comes from.
7. There is a Museum in Massachusetts bad art. It would seem strange to judge art, but there are still generally accepted canons, violating which the creator can guarantee himself disrepute. In the Museum of Bad Art, among the exhibits you can find not only funny paintings, but also sculptures, for example, made from trash cans. I'm glad that you can at least look at all this for free.
8. The Museum of the Body is located in Holland. Here anyone can walk inside the 35-meter statue. As the name suggests, visitors examine, look at and even touch human insides.

The goal of all museums is to enhance human culture and introduce people to the world of art.

The British Museum was created in 1753 and was formed primarily from the collections of its founder, the physician and scientist Hans Sloane. The museum opened to the public on 15 January 1759 at Montagu House, an aristocratic mansion located in London's Bloomsbury district, where it remains today. The UK's largest museum houses archaeological and ethnographic collections that number more than eight million objects. And the museum's Egyptian Gallery boasts the world's second-best collection of Egyptian antiquities, including, for example, the Rosetta Stone with an inscription of gratitude carved on it in 196 BC. The Egyptian priests addressed this inscription to Ptolemy V Epiphanes, a monarch from the Ptolemaic dynasty. , since about 5.3 million people visit it every year. Tate Modern Gallery. Photo by: Hans Peter Schaefer. Tate Modern is a former power station on the south bank of the River Thames in Battersea, which was built between 1947 and 1963. Today, the gallery building still resembles a 20th century factory in its appearance, both outside and inside. So when you walk into the gallery space, you are greeted by dark gray walls, steel beams and concrete floors. The collections at Tate Modern consist of works of modern art created between 1900 and the present day. The gallery building has 7 floors, numbered from 0 to 6. Moreover, each floor is divided into 4 wings, which correspond to certain themes or subjects. Photo by: Peter Morgan. For example, in 2012, exhibits on the following topics were presented on different floors. The "Poetry and Dreams" wing is dedicated to surrealism, "Structure and Clarity" focuses on abstract art, the "Transformed Vision" wing is dedicated to expressionism, and "Energy and Process" focuses on the art movement of Art Povera and features works by artists such as Alighiero Boetti, Yiannis Kounellis, Kazimir Malevich, Ana Mendieta and Mario Merz. It is located in Trafalgar Square and is visited by about 5 million people annually.

Unlike other major museums in continental Europe, the National Gallery was not formed through nationalization, that is, the transfer of the royal art collection to the state. It came about when the British government bought 38 paintings in 1824 from the heirs of John Angerstein, an insurance broker and patron of the arts. Since this acquisition, the gallery has been replenished only by its directors, in particular the artist Charles Eastlake, and by private donations, which make up two-thirds of the collection. Today the gallery is owned by the UK public and is therefore free to enter. The London National Gallery used to have a permanent exhibition, but today it is constantly changing. 6. Vatican Museums. Presented in the Vatican Museums huge collection exhibits collected by the Roman Catholic Church over several centuries. About 5 million people visit museums every year. The Sistine Chapel. Author of the photo: BriYYZ. The Vatican Museums have 22 separate art collections. And, perhaps, the most famous of them is kept in the Pius Clement Museum, where magnificent classical sculptures are presented. The Pinacoteca de Brera (art gallery) houses medieval and Renaissance masterpieces. The Gregorian Egyptian Museum houses ancient Egyptian exhibits, and the Gregorian Etruscan Museum contains numerous Etruscan household items. But, of course, the main attractions of the Vatican Museums are the Sistine Chapel, painted by Michelangelo, and the Stanzas of Raphael. Stanzas of Raphael. One of the national museums of the Republic of China, it has a permanent collection of approximately 696,000 ancient Chinese artifacts and works of art. The collection tells the story of more than 8,000 years Chinese history from the Neolithic to the end of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1912). Most of the collection was formed by the emperors of China.

The Imperial Palace Museum is located in the Taiwanese capital of Taipei and is visited by approximately 4.4 million people annually. The main attractions of the museum are painting and calligraphy, as well as rare books, the number of which in the museum reaches 200 thousand volumes.

Located in Washington, D.C., this gallery attracts approximately 4.2 million visitors annually. It was founded in 1937 by decision of the US Congress. A large collection of art objects, as well as funds for the construction of the gallery, was donated by the American banker and billionaire Andrew William Mellon. Paintings, drawings, engravings, photographs, sculptures, medals, as well as decorative arts tell gallery visitors about the development Western art from the Middle Ages to the present day. The National Gallery of Art also features America's only painting by Leonardo da Vinci, as well as the world's largest mobile (kinetic sculpture) ever created by American sculptor Alexander Calder. Portrait of Ginevra de Benci. 9. Center Pompidou, France. The National Center for Art and Culture named after Georges Pompidou is Cultural Center in the Beaubourg quarter of the 4th arrondissement of Paris, built in high-tech style. About 3.8 million people visit the Pompidou Center every year. Center Pompidou. Photo credit: scarletgreen. The center is named after Georges Pompidou, the president who served from 1969 to 1974. He ordered the construction of this cultural center. The Pompidou Center officially opened on January 31, 1977. Today it houses a huge public library, the State Museum of Modern Art, which is contemporary art in Europe, and the Institute for Research and Coordination of Acoustics and Music (IRCAM). Interestingly, according to the architect’s design, Alexander Calder’s mobile, whose height is 7.62 meters, was installed in front of the center building. 10. Orsay Museum, France. This museum, located on the left bank of the Seine River in Paris, is visited by about 3.6 million people annually. Orsay Museum. Photo by: Nicolas Sanchez. It was created in a former railway station built in the Beaux Arts style (eclectic style) between 1898 and 1900. By 1939, the station's short platforms became unsuitable for the large trains that were then emerging, so the station was used only for commuter trains. Subsequently, the railway station was used only as a location for filming films, such as, for example, “The Trial” by Orson Welles, based on the novel of the same name by Franz Kafka. Main hall of the Orsay Museum. Photo by: Benh Lieu Song. And in 1970, it was decided to demolish the station, but Jacques Duhamel, Minister of Cultural Affairs, was against this, and the station joined the list historical monuments France. A few years later, a proposal was made to make a museum in the station building. And finally, in July 1986, the museum was ready to receive exhibits. Another 6 months passed, and in December 1986 the doors of the museum opened to receive visitors. Today the museum displays mainly objects French art, dating from 1848 to 1915. Here is the most large collection works of the world's Impressionists and Post-Impressionists, particularly by artists such as Monet, Manet, Degas, Renoir, Cezanne and Van Gogh.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art was founded in 1870 by a group of American citizens. Among them were entrepreneurs and financiers, as well as leading artists and thinkers of the time, who wanted to open a museum to introduce art to the American people.

The museum opened on February 20, 1872 and today occupies about 190 thousand m². The museum's main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park, is one of the world's largest art galleries, while a smaller building in Upper Manhattan houses medieval art.

The permanent collection of the museum contains works of art that were created in the period from antiquity to the present day. There you can see paintings and sculptures by almost all European masters, such as Botticelli, Rembrandt, Degas, Rodin and others, as well as get acquainted with an extensive collection of modern art. The Metropolitan Museum of Art is home to collections of musical instruments, period costumes, accessories and weapons from around the world.

By the way, one of the museum’s many impressive masterpieces is the copper engraving “Adam and Eve” by Albrecht Durer.

Engraving "Adam and Eve".

3. British Museum, UK. This museum is located in London, and it is dedicated to the history and culture of mankind. Its permanent collection, numbering about 8 million items, is one of the largest and most comprehensive. About 5.5 million people visit the museum every year. Entry to this museum is free.

The British Museum was created in 1753 and was formed primarily from the collections of its founder, the physician and scientist Hans Sloan. The museum opened to the public on 15 January 1759 at Montagu House, an aristocratic mansion located in London's Bloomsbury district, where it remains today.

The UK's largest museum houses archaeological and ethnographic collections that number more than eight million objects. And the museum's Egyptian Gallery boasts the world's second-best collection of Egyptian antiquities, including, for example, the Rosetta Stone with an inscription of gratitude carved on it in 196 BC. The Egyptian priests addressed this inscription to Ptolemy V Epiphanes, a monarch from the Ptolemaic dynasty.

4. Tate Modern, UK. This gallery is located in London and is the most popular contemporary art gallery in the world , since about 5.3 million people visit it every year.

Tate Modern is a former power station on the south bank of the River Thames in Battersea, which was built between 1947 and 1963. Today, the gallery building still resembles a 20th century factory in its appearance, both outside and inside. So when you walk into the gallery space, you are greeted by dark gray walls, steel beams and concrete floors.

The collections at Tate Modern consist of works of modern art created between 1900 and the present day. The gallery building has 7 floors, numbered from 0 to 6. Moreover, each floor is divided into 4 wings, which correspond to certain themes or subjects.

For example, in 2012, exhibits on the following topics were presented on different floors. The "Poetry and Dreams" wing is dedicated to surrealism, "Structure and Clarity" focuses on abstract art, the "Transformed Vision" wing is dedicated to expressionism, and "Energy and Process" focuses on the art movement of Art Povera and features works by artists such as Alighiero Boetti, Yiannis Kounellis, Kazimir Malevich, Ana Mendieta and Mario Merz.

5. London National Gallery, UK. It is located in Trafalgar Square and is visited by about 5 million people annually.

Unlike other major museums in continental Europe, the National Gallery was not formed through nationalization, that is, the transfer of the royal art collection to the state. It came about when the British government bought 38 paintings in 1824 from the heirs of John Angerstein, an insurance broker and patron of the arts. Since this acquisition, the gallery has been replenished only by its directors, in particular the artist Charles Eastlake, and by private donations, which make up two-thirds of the collection. Today the gallery is owned by the UK public and is therefore free to enter.

The London National Gallery used to have a permanent exhibition, but today it is constantly changing.

6. Vatican Museums. The Vatican Museums display a huge collection of artifacts collected by the Roman Catholic Church over several centuries. About 5 million people visit museums every year.

The Vatican Museums house 22 separate art collections. And, perhaps, the most famous of them is kept in the Pius Clement Museum, where magnificent classical sculptures are presented. The Pinacoteca de Brera (art gallery) houses medieval and Renaissance masterpieces. The Gregorian Egyptian Museum houses ancient Egyptian exhibits, and the Gregorian Etruscan Museum contains numerous Etruscan household items. But, of course, the main attractions of the Vatican Museums are the Sistine Chapel, painted by Michelangelo, and the Stanzas of Raphael.

Stanzas of Raphael.

7. Imperial Palace Museum, Taiwan. One of the national museums of the Republic of China, it has a permanent collection of approximately 696,000 ancient Chinese artifacts and works of art. The collection tells the story of more than 8,000 years of Chinese history from the Neolithic to the end of the Qing Dynasty (1644−1912). Most of the collection was formed by the emperors of China.

The Imperial Palace Museum is located in the Taiwanese capital of Taipei and is visited by approximately 4.4 million people annually. The main attractions of the museum are painting and calligraphy, as well as rare books, the number of which in the museum reaches 200 thousand volumes.

8. National Gallery of Art, USA. Located in Washington, D.C., this gallery attracts approximately 4.2 million visitors annually. It was founded in 1937 by decision of the US Congress. A large collection of art objects, as well as funds for the construction of the gallery, was donated by the American banker and billionaire Andrew William Mellon.

Paintings, drawings, engravings, photographs, sculptures, medals, and decorative arts tell gallery visitors about the development of Western art from the Middle Ages to the present day. The National Gallery of Art also features America's only painting by Leonardo da Vinci, as well as the world's largest mobile (kinetic sculpture) ever created by American sculptor Alexander Calder.

Portrait of Ginevra de Benci.

Portrait of Ginevra de Benci. The National Center for Art and Culture Georges Pompidou is a cultural center in the Beaubourg quarter of the 4th arrondissement of Paris, built in high-tech style. About 3.8 million people visit the Pompidou Center every year.

The center is named after Georges Pompidou, the president who served from 1969 to 1974. He ordered the construction of this cultural center. The Pompidou Center officially opened on January 31, 1977.

Today it houses a huge public library, the State Museum of Modern Art, which is the largest museum of modern art in Europe, and the Institute for Research and Coordination of Acoustics and Music (IRCAM).

Interestingly, according to the architect’s design, Alexander Calder’s mobile, whose height is 7.62 meters, was installed in front of the center building.

10. Orsay Museum, France. This museum, located on the left bank of the Seine River in Paris, is visited by about 3.6 million people annually.

It was created in a former railway station built in the Beaux Arts style (eclectic style) between 1898 and 1900. By 1939, the station's short platforms became unsuitable for the large trains that were then emerging, so the station was used only for commuter trains. Subsequently, the railway station was used only as a location for filming films, such as, for example, “The Trial” by Orson Welles, based on the novel of the same name by Franz Kafka.

And in 1970, it was decided to demolish the station, but Jacques Duhamel, Minister of Cultural Affairs, was against this, and the station joined the list of historical monuments of France. A few years later, a proposal was made to make a museum in the station building. And finally, in July 1986, the museum was ready to receive exhibits. Another 6 months passed, and in December 1986 the doors of the museum opened to receive visitors.

Today the museum exhibits mainly French art dating from 1848 to 1915. It houses the largest collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist works in the world, including artists such as Monet, Manet, Degas, Renoir, Cezanne and Van Gogh.

A unique opportunity to travel through time and space is provided by museums that contain exhibits of various national cultures, created by the hands of both modern masters and famous ancestors. The topic of the article is the most famous and great museums in the world that you should visit.

general review

What criteria are used as a basis?

• One of the most important is attendance. The leader is the French Louvre, whose record is approaching 10 million people. In second place is the British Museum (about 8 million). The Metropolitan Museum of Art (USA) and the Vatican Museum occupy third and fourth place in the ranking, respectively. Each of them exceeded the attendance threshold of 6 million.
• Footprint. The leader here is again the Louvre, although officially it is given third position (160 thousand square meters). Formally it is ahead of, for example, Art Museum Japan (Tokyo), but the exhibition area of ​​the Louvre is the most impressive (58 thousand square meters).
• The world's greatest museums are defined by the number of exhibits and their historical value.
• Another criterion is the choice of travelers. The Traveller's Choice competition is held annually, with the nomination “Museums of the World”. In 2016, the ranking was topped by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the top ten included the Art Institute of Chicago, the Hermitage (third position) and the very young September 11 Museum (USA), opened in 2013. His exhibitions are dedicated to the tragic events in New York.

Greatest Louvre (France)

Before becoming a museum, the Louvre was a fortress and then the residence of the kings of France. Its exhibitions were presented to the public in 1793, during the Great Bourgeois Revolution. The unique collection was formed by King Francis I and was constantly replenished. Its treasuries today contain more than 300 thousand exhibits, 35 thousand of which are simultaneously exhibited to visitors: from Egyptian and Phoenician antiquities to modern sculptures and jewelry.

Most Valuable works of art- these are statues of Venus de Milo and Nike of Samothrace, Delacroix and the great Rembrandt. Art lovers come to see the masterpiece outstanding master Revival of Leonard da Vinci - "Mona Lisa". In 1911, the painting was stolen by an Italian from Perugia, but was returned 27 months later after lengthy negotiations with Italy. All greatest museums peace ensure the safety of paintings. “Mona Lisa” is the only exhibit that is not insured by the state, because it is considered priceless.

Today the museum, located on the rue de Rivoli in the center of Paris, includes the Old and New Louvre. In 1989, the American Yong Min Pei implemented a project to unite the Louvre into a single complex. A special entrance in the form of a glass pyramid was built, allowing the number of visitors to triple.

British Museum (London)

The date of its foundation (1753) is impressive. The collection began with the doctor Hans Sloan, a collector of ancient manuscripts, books, plants and medals. Today it is the largest historical and archaeological repository in Great Britain, where about 13 million exhibits are collected. They are located in 100 galleries according to territorial and chronological criteria. The pearls of the exhibition are the Parthenon marbles, attributed to the Greek sculptor Phidias, who made it possible to decipher ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, and a piece of the beard of the Great Sphinx of Giza. The world's greatest museums have built rich collections by plundering colonial countries.

In the 19th century, the old building was demolished, and in its place, architect Robert Smike built a unique building in the neoclassical style. Located in the Bloomsbury area, it underwent redevelopment in the 20th century (Foster's project), acquiring modern look. A special feature of the museum is the creation on its basis in 1972 of a separate structure - the British Library.

Vatican Museums - a single complex

It is generally accepted that the complex occupies the most significant territory. The impression is formed due to the high density of exhibits per unit area. The entire Vatican is located on just half a square kilometer, while the museum's fund includes 50 thousand paintings, sculptures and jewelry. All the greatest museums in the world (photos presented in the article) have unique features.

The main shrine of this is the Sistine Chapel, where since the 15th century it has been painted with frescoes by the great Michelangelo, it is the crown of the creation of human hands. To get there, you need to go through dozens of museum halls, enjoying the splendor of Catholic churches, tombs and paintings by Raphael and other artists.

The small state itself can be considered as a single museum architectural monuments, the construction of which began in the 14th century.

Metropolitan Museum of Art (USA)

The New York Museum ranks first among Traveller's Choice winners, although it was founded in a later period - in 1870. It began with private collections donated to the state and exhibited in the premises of the dance school. At the turn of the century, the architect Hyde built the main building , and a little later - the side wings of the Metropolitan Museum, representing a number of buildings from different times. They are connected by stairs and passages, storing 3 million works of art. The largest collection was created by the Costume Institute.

Not all of the world's greatest museums, described in the article, can boast of hosting large-scale events, such as the annual Met Gala charity ball with the participation of world stars. In 2016, the Costume Institute celebrated its 70th anniversary.

National Prado Museum

The paintings of the great Spaniards are presented in Madrid. National Museum founded in 1785 and has collected large-scale collections of paintings by Goya, Velazquez, Zurbaran and El Greco. There are also works by great Italian and Flemish masters, examples of ancient coins, jewelry and porcelain. Since 1819, the museum has been housed in the current building, designed in the classicist style (architect Villanueva), and is open to visitors. On an area of ​​58 thousand square meters. meters, 1,300 works are exhibited, and the rest (more than 20 thousand) are stored in storage rooms.

The world's greatest museums often have branches. Contemporary Prado art is presented in the Villahermosa Palace. A special feature of the Spanish museum is the restrained elegance of the buildings, in contrast to the Louvre and the Hermitage, which we will discuss below.

Hermitage (St. Petersburg)

The name is translated from French as a secluded place, but today it is one of the most visited in the world. Founded by Catherine in late XVIII century, the museum has the title of the best in 2014. Under Nicholas I, the collection became so large that the doors of the Imperial Palace opened to the public. Today, 3 million works of art delight the eyes of visitors, telling the story since the Stone Age. Of particular interest are the Diamond and Gold vaults of the Hermitage, where an additional ticket is required.

Great Russian museums are located in buildings that have cultural and historical significance for the country. The Hermitage consists of five buildings located on the banks of the Neva (Palace Embankment). The luxurious Winter Palace in the Baroque style by the architect B. Rastrelli is the decoration of St. Petersburg and the greatest historical monument.

Coming on vacation to a new country, any tourist tries to visit as many interesting places and attractions as possible to make the trip memorable for a lifetime. Besides the amazing natural landscapes and outstanding architectural monuments, the majority of travelers seek to visit places associated with the culture of the country, for example, famous museums or art galleries to see the great masterpieces of world art with your own eyes. Today we will talk about the most interesting galleries in the world that are definitely worth visiting when visiting these countries.

1. Gallery of St. George in the Czech Republic– this museum-gallery is located in the Czech city of Benesov, in the beautiful Konopiste castle, fifty kilometers southeast. This ancient castle-fortress, with powerful towers, houses the Museum of St. George. There are more than four thousand here most interesting exhibits, collected all over the world: rare paintings by great artists, amazing sculptures, objects decorated with filigree wood carvings, other objects of decorative and applied art, from the fifteenth to the nineteenth centuries.

2. Dresden Gallery in Germany– located in Dresden, in the Old Town area. The Dresden Art Gallery has been operating for five centuries, and every year its exhibition is replenished with great world masterpieces best artists. The year 1945 became tragic for Dresden and this art gallery, since during the bombing of the Anglo-American aircraft, it was partially destroyed, and many paintings were irretrievably lost, and the surviving part of them was hidden by the Nazis in wet limestone mines, which damaged the paintings enormous damage. But, fortunately, they were saved from their inglorious disappearance by Soviet soldiers, who, having found them in the mines, took the paintings to the USSR, where they were carefully restored, and already in 1955, transferred to the German Democratic Republic. The gallery building in Dresden was restored and the paintings that came to life again adorned these walls. In the gallery you can get acquainted with the great works of the masters of Italian painting of the fifteenth-eighteenth centuries: Titian, Giorgione, Veronese, Raphael, Correggio, Tintoretto. Works are presented here Dutch masters: Rembrandt, Vermeer, Ruisdael, Hals, as well as famous Flemings: Rubens, Van Dyck, Snyders. In addition, the gallery has a room dedicated to Spanish art. But, probably, the main treasure of the Dresden Gallery is “ Sistine Madonna"The inimitable Raphael. Today there are fifty halls with wonderful exhibitions, and another three thousand paintings are stored in storerooms - a great part of the world cultural heritage planets.

3. Gallery of modern art in Germany– located in the city of Düsseldorf, in the Kunsthalle Exhibition Center, built in 1967. The building of the art center initially had an urban style, as it was built from ready-made blocks of concrete panels, and it acquired its current shape as a result of reconstruction. It opened its doors to visitors again in 2002, and new options appeared here: an information department, ticket offices, and a cafe. This gallery does not have a permanent exhibition; exhibitions of new talented contemporary artists are constantly held here. By the way, many of today’s well-known artists were able to reveal their talent to the general public, precisely thanks to such exhibitions at the Kunsthalle.

4. Gallery of art from European and American countries of the 19th-20th centuries in Russia is a department of the State Museum of Fine Arts named after A. S. Pushkin, opened in 2006. Paintings by artists from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries are stored here. The gallery rooms are divided by theme. There is a hall of masters of the German school of painting, early nineteenth century, chamber halls where paintings by Delacroix and Ingres are displayed, and the Spanish school of masters is represented by the works of the great Goya. In addition, there are separate rooms where artistic creations French impressionists, post-impressionists, artists of the early twentieth century: Monet, Renoir, Degas, Cezanne, Toulouse-Lautrec.

5. Tretyakov Gallery in Russia – famous museum art, located in Moscow. This gallery was founded in 1856 by P. M. Tretyakov. At first it was a private collection, which in 1892 was transferred to the Moscow authorities, along with the mansion. In the Tretyakov Gallery you can see beautiful sculptures and graphics from the period from the eighteenth to the twentieth century, a large collection of Russian paintings, as well as ancient Russian icon painting from the same period. Since 1985, the Tretyakov Gallery has been merged with the State Art Gallery. The museum building was reconstructed in 1986, and since 1989 it has been supplemented with a new complex, with a children's studio, information center, conference room and exhibition halls. The number of paintings stored in the gallery is constantly growing, and if in 1917 there were about four thousand, now there are already about sixty thousand. Since 1991, the gallery was awarded the title “All-Russian Museum Association “State Tretyakov Gallery”.

6. Cariton Art Gallery in Canada– located in the British Columbia region, in the city of Abbotsford. She has been working for over forty years, exhibiting interesting works local artists native to British Columbia. Over the years, more than three thousand exhibitions have taken place, revealing to the general public many brilliant painters who later achieved world recognition. The gallery is always crowded, and admission is free.

7. National Gallery of Armenia– this famous museum is located in the city of Yerevan. It's entirely dedicated fine arts. This art gallery is the largest in the post-Soviet space, which is why it is considered a national treasure of the country. The gallery was founded in 1921. Today, more than thirty-five thousand paintings by great artists of the world are stored here. There are a lot of paintings by Armenian and Russian artists, as well as Western European painters: French, Dutch, Spanish, Italian and German schools. This gallery contains the most complete collection of Aivazovsky’s works, magnificent masterpieces by Rubens, Van Dyck, Rousseau, and Goya.

8. Dulwich Art Gallery in the UK- This is one of the most interesting art galleries in the world and a wonderful art museum, opened in 1817, in a building specially erected for this purpose. Architect John Soane arranged the halls of the building in such a way that their close relationship can be seen. The main part of the collection is paintings from the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries, but there are also paintings from other eras. Visitors will be able to get acquainted with the works of Rembrandt, Antoine Watteau, Bartolome Esteban Murillo, Paul Rubens, Raphael. It is in this museum that you can see the richest collection of portraits famous painters Britain.

9. Baroque gallery in front of the Jesuit College in the Czech Republic– is located in the interesting, from a historical and architectural point of view, city of Kutna Hora. This gallery opened at the beginning of the eighteenth century, at the same time as the construction of this college began. The design of the gallery building was developed by the architect Orsi from. The structure is interesting in itself: its baroque gallery is located on an approach that is similar in architecture to the Charles Bridge in Prague, it is also decorated with a terrace with a sculptural group of twelve saints, including: St. John of Nepomuk, St. Barbara, St. Joseph , Saint Francis of Xavier, Saint Charlemagne. Under each sculpture there is an inscription indicating the name of the saint and the event associated with this person, and the date of creation of this sculpture is also indicated. That is, this baroque gallery not only decorates the city, but is also a historical chronogram that clearly tells tourists the history of the Czech Republic.

10. National Gallery of Australia in Canberra– this building, where an art gallery and a museum were combined, was built in 1967. It occupies a huge area of ​​twenty-three thousand square meters, and was built in the brutalist style: it has angular shapes, concrete walls, a rough texture, sharply contrasting with the bright and lush greenery around. On the main floor of the gallery there are large exhibition halls, with interesting collections dedicated to local aborigines, but there are also collections from European countries and America. The main exhibit of the Aboriginal collection is two hundred logs, they were used to mark graves; it is called the “Aboriginal Memorial” and is dedicated to the indigenous people of Australia who died fighting the Europeans who came to their lands. The European and American collections are represented by works of famous world artists. There are also exhibits of Asian art, which are located on the lower floor of the gallery building. All exhibits represent different eras: from the Neolithic to the present day, there are: sculptures, miniatures, engravings made on wood, ceramics and textiles. On the top floor you can see Australian art, as well as paintings, sculptures, photographs. In total, the National Gallery houses more than one hundred and twenty thousand pieces of art.

11. Salzburg Gallery in the Residence is a unique collection of paintings of European painting from the sixteenth to nineteenth centuries, collected in the Austrian city of Salzburg. The gallery has luxurious decoration and an exquisite, rich collection. Mostly here are paintings by Dutch painters of the seventeenth century, French, Italian, Austrian baroque painting, seventeenth - eighteenth centuries, Austrian painting of the nineteenth century. It often hosts traveling exhibitions or specialized shows, where visitors are presented with examples of modern and historical art. This museum opened its doors to visitors in 1923, but at that time, the gallery did not own a single painting, because... they were all borrowed.

12. National Gallery of Slovenia in Ljubljana– is the largest art museum in the country and an interesting gallery in the world. There are many collected here ancient works Slovenian and European artists, in different styles and genre directions. The National Gallery opened in 1918. It is divided into several halls dedicated to different directions: neoclassicism, realism, impressionism. In addition, sculptures and statues from the Renaissance are kept here.

13. National Gallery of Italy in Emilia-Romagna– located in the city of Parma, in a beautiful palace - Palazzo della Pilotta, near the Cathedral Square. Initially, the collection of paintings was collected by the influential Italian family of the Farnese Dukes, and the first collection of the National Gallery included paintings donated by the Academy of Painting of Parma. In the gallery you can see works by famous masters of Italian painting from the fifteenth to sixteenth centuries: Fra Beato Angelico, Tintoretto, Giulio Romano, Leonardo da Vinci, paintings by masters who worked from the seventeenth to eighteenth centuries: Carracci, Canaletto, Tiepolo, paintings by Parmigianino painters and Correggio - residents of Parma.

14. Ivan Mestrovic Gallery in Croatia– a house-museum in the city of Split, where more than three hundred works of art of various styles are stored, from paintings with religious themes and great masterpieces of portrait art to nude sculptures. There are sculptures made of stone, marble, wood, bronze, as well as a large collection of beautiful drawings and interesting antique furniture. Ivan Mestrovic opened the doors of his gallery to visitors in 1952, and to this day, it is a popular place to visit, not only among local residents, but also among numerous tourists.

15. Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art in Edinburgh– the gallery is located in a beautiful building of the nineteenth century, in a neoclassical style. There is a large collection of works here contemporary artists. In front of the gallery there is an interesting garden where you can admire sculptures by Henry Moore, Rachel Whiteread, Tony Cragg, Barbara Hepworth, and since 2002, the entrance lawn has been turned into a huge sculpture by Charles Jencks. In 2005, thanks to the support of the Art Fund, the exhibition of this gallery was replenished with twenty drawings by artist Tracey Emin from Britain; in 2008, they were allocated as a separate topic. The works of other, more famous artists of the world are presented here: Picasso, Braque, Mondrian, Ben Nicholson, Matisse, Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Francis Bacon, Lucian Freud. Unfortunately, in order to demonstrate to the public all the paintings stored in the gallery, there is not enough space in the building, which is why temporary exhibitions are practiced here.

16. Art gallery of Samarkand in Uzbekistan– presents to its visitors an original collection of paintings from various eras, which characterize the life and culture of different eastern peoples. Almost four thousand paintings are presented here, including examples of painting and graphics, embossing and sculpture. The museum collection presents rare works by Russian artists: Samuil Dudin, Richard Sommer, Usto Mumin, Leon Bure, Vasily Vereshchagin.

17. National Gallery of Ireland in Dublin-an art gallery housing the world's largest collection of Irish paintings. The gallery was founded in 1864, at the time of opening there were only one hundred and twenty-five paintings, but the popularity of this place grew, and many simple people and artists gave paintings here as a gift. Today, the gallery owns more than fourteen thousand paintings. There is a collection of graphics, sculptures, antique furniture, photographs and other works of art. Entry to the National Gallery is free.

18. Gallery of Sigiriya murals in Sri Lanka- in that most interesting place in the rock, there are half a thousand ancient frescoes, which stretch one hundred and forty meters long and go up to forty meters in height. It depicts the favorite motif of Sigiriya mural painting - naked dancers, next to which poems praising strength are written on the walls female beauty. According to the guides, all these images refer to one female goddess - Tara - the mother of all Buddhas. On the frescoes she is depicted with different appearance and even differs in nationality. Get into this unusual, and one of the most interesting galleries world, you can use a spiral staircase and real rope bridges that are stretched over the abyss.

19. Brera Art Gallery in Milan– here is the largest meeting artistic masterpieces, which were ever created by Italian sculptors and painters. In the forty halls of the gallery you can get acquainted with the great creations of such masters as: Raphael, Titian, Hayes, Caravaggio, works of famous Flemish painters, as well as impressionist artists. In order to see all the exhibits in the gallery, a couple of hours is not enough for you; you need to spend at least a day here. If you are limited on time, then you should definitely look at the two-ton, three-meter statue of Napoleon, the work of sculptor Antonio Canova and Raphael’s painting “The Betrothal of the Virgin”. The gallery opened to the public in the Brera Palace in 1809, according to the decree of Queen Maria Teresa of Austria.

20. London Art Gallery– a place where a unique collection of paintings by English and Western European artists is collected. The gallery is located in Trafalgar Square. Here you will see the world's famous masterpieces of the brush: Michelangelo, Rembrandt, Leonardo da Vinci, Botticelli, Titian, Rubens, Canaletto, Dürer, Thomas Lawrence, William Hogarth. The gallery also displays portraits of members of the royal family, works by masters of the twelfth – nineteenth centuries. The London Art Gallery opened in 1824 with a modest collection of thirty-eight paintings, but today, thanks to the help of patrons and the tireless work of the gallery staff, there are two and a half thousand paintings painted between the thirteenth and twentieth centuries. For the convenience of gallery visitors, paintings are exhibited in chronological order.

We hope that we were able to guide you through the most famous galleries in the world that are worth visiting if you find yourself in one of the above-mentioned countries to better understand their people, history and culture.

There are thousands of museums in the world, most of which, of course, everyone should see at least once in their life. Of course, no one wants to spend their entire vacation looking at endless collections of paintings and sculptures created by unfamiliar artists and sculptors. Everyone wants to contemplate only famous works, right?

There is a ranking of the ten most popular museums in the world, thanks to their outstanding collections, which include historically significant works famous artists. It should be noted that visiting these museums leaves a strong impression even on those who are not fans of art.

10th place. State Museum. Amsterdam, Netherlands

9th place. State Hermitage Museum. Saint-Petersburg, Russia

8th place. Prado Museum. Madrid, Spain

7th place. Smithsonian Museum. Washington, USA

6th place. Egyptian Museum. Cairo, Egypt

5th place. Uffizi Gallery. Florence, Italy

4th place. Modern Art Museum. New York, USA

3rd place. British Art Museum. London, Great Britain.

2nd place. Vatican Museum. Vatican, Italy

1 place. Louvre Museum. Paris, France

Even if you're not an art buff, these museums are a must see! If you don’t have enough time and money to see everything on display there, then at least the works of the most famous people are worth seeing in person. Such an experience can enrich the intellect and give new unforgettable emotions.