Around the world through the twelve most beautiful museums in the world

Today, May 18, is International Museum Day. After a complex year full of uncertainty, it could be said that this sector has managed to overcome it and adapt to circumstances in an extraordinary way. Museums around the world quickly adapted and filled our art houses thanks to digital platforms, giving us free masterpieces. The pandemic has made art one of the first businesses to transform its visits virtually, through web pages, official YouTube channels and social networks worldwide. Today, more than ever, we appreciate what you have shared with us this year, and for that from Status, we choose twelve of the most beautiful museums in the world.

Museo Guggenheim (Bilbao)

The creation of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao was the result of an exceptional collaboration between the Basque Administrations and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation. At present, more than two decades after its inauguration, in October 1997, the Museum is a reality that has exceeded the most ambitious expectations at an artistic and cultural level, and has contributed, in an extraordinary way, to the urban, economic regeneration and social aspects of the city of Bilbao and its immediate surroundings. The Museum building, today the most recognizable icon of the city of Bilbao, is a large sculpture of titanium, stone and glass designed by the American architect Frank Gehry. The galleries, some with surprising configurations and others with regular shapes, are articulated around a spectacular Atrium crowned by an overhead skylight in the shape of a metallic flower.

State Hermitage Museum (St. Petersburg)

The State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia, is one of the largest art galleries and antiquities museums in the world. The museum's collection occupies a complex made up of six buildings located on the banks of the Neva River, the most important of which is the Winter Palace, the official residence of the former tsars. The rest of the architectural complex is made up of five buildings, among which are the Menshikov Palace, the General Staff Building and an open storage facility. The museum was formed with the private collection that the tsars were acquiring for several centuries, and it was not until 1917 when it was declared a State Museum. Its collection, made up of more than three million pieces, ranges from Roman and Greek antiquities, to Western European paintings and sculptures, Oriental art, archaeological pieces, Russian art, jewelry and weapons. Its art gallery is considered one of the most complete in the world. The museum is one of the largest in the world.

Potala Palace (Lhasa)

The Potala Palace, the winter residence of the Dalai Lama since the seventh century, is a symbol of Tibetan Buddhism and the role it played in the traditional administration of Tibet. The palace complex which stands on the Red Mountain, in the center of the Lhasa Valley, at an altitude of 3,700 meters includes the White Palace, the Red Palace and their attached buildings. Also part of the site are the Jokhang Temple monastery, an exceptional Buddhist religious complex also built in the 7th century, and the Norbulingka Palace, the summer residence of the Dalai Lama built in the 18th century and a masterpiece of Tibetan art. The beauty and originality of the architecture of these monuments, their rich ornamentation and their harmony with the admirable surrounding landscape, add to their historical and religious interest.

Vatican Museums (Vatican)

It is a complex made up of thematic museums, pontifical buildings, galleries, monuments and gardens. The best known are the Sistine Chapel and Raphael's rooms.

Soumaya Museum (Mexico City)

The Soumaya Museum is a non-profit cultural institution founded in 1994 that has three venues in Mexico City: Plaza Loreto, Plaza Carso and Casa Guillermo Tovar de Teresa Museum. Its main task is to share the collection of the Carlos Slim Foundation, which offers more than 3 centuries of American and European art, in meeting spaces for all, that encourage reflection and dialogue in the Latin American cultural scene, through commitment and action. social. It preserves, protects and investigates the art collection and promotes national and international temporary and traveling exhibitions of various kinds.

Museum d'Orsay (Paris)

The Musée d'Orsay is an art gallery located in Paris dedicated to the plastic arts of the 19th century and, more specifically, the period 1848-1914. It occupies the former building of the Orsay railway station and houses the largest collection of Impressionist works in the world, with masterpieces of painting and sculpture such as Lunch on the Grass and Olympia by Édouard Manet, a test of the statue The Little Dancer Fourteen by Degas, Dance at the Moulin de la Galette by Renoir, several essential works by Courbet (The Origin of the World, Burial at Ornans, The Painter's Workshop) and even five paintings from Monet's Series of Rouen Cathedrals. Chronologically, this museum covers the history of art between the Old Masters and modern and contemporary art.

Museo del Prado (Madrid)

The building that today houses the Museo Nacional del Prado was designed by the architect Juan de Villanueva in 1785, as the Cabinet of Natural Sciences, by order of Carlos III . However, the final destination of this construction would not be clear until his grandson Fernando VII, encouraged by his wife Queen María Isabel de Braganza, made the decision to allocate this building to the creation of a Royal Museum of Paintings and Sculptures. . Today, the Prado Museum is one of the most important in the world, as well as one of the most visited.

Kunsthistorisches Museum (Vienna)

The Kunsthistorisches Museum is one of the most important museums in the world. It was built by Emperor Franz Joseph to house the imperial collections and contains objects spanning five millennia: from the time of ancient Egypt or ancient Greece, to the end of the 18th century. These objects testify to the passion of the emperor and the archdukes of the house of Habsburg. It is worth noting the works of art from the Renaissance and the Baroque. Also a great artistic delight is the magnificent architecture of the museum on the Ringstrasse and the cycle of paintings on the imposing staircase.

Erawan Museum (Samut Prakan)

The Erawan Museum in Thailand is an important model of sculpture. The Erawan Museum is the door that opens to the heritage of Thai culture. With a wide range of architectural symbols combined with fine arts and crafts, structural design and natural surroundings that are harmoniously integrated, Erawan Museum creates an atmosphere that induces visitors to perceive and appreciate the continuity of history, cultures, religions , arts and customs.

Uffizi Gallery (Florence)

The Uffizi Gallery is a palace and museum in Florence that contains one of the oldest and most famous art collections in the world. It is considered one of the most viewed tourist attractions in Florence.

Niterói Museum of Contemporary Art (Rio de Janeiro)

Designed by architect Oscar Niemeyer with the help of structural engineer Bruno Contarini, it is one of the last works carried out by Niemeyer at the age of 100. In addition to being an important museum, it is one of the most admired architectural works.

Whitney Museum of American Art (New York)

As the preeminent institution dedicated to American art, the Whitney Museum of American Art presents the full range of 20th-century and contemporary American art, featuring a special focus on the works of living artists. The Whitney is dedicated to collecting, preserving, interpreting, and exhibiting American art, and its collection, arguably the finest collection of 20th-century American art in the world, is the Museum's key resource. Innovation has been a hallmark of the Whitney since its inception. It was the first museum dedicated to the work of living American artists and the first museum in New York to present a major exhibition by a video artist (Nam June Paik, in 1982). Such important figures as Jasper Johns, Jay DeFeo, Glenn Ligon, Cindy Sherman and Paul Thek have been present with their artwork. It was designed by the architect Renzo Piano and is located between the High Line and the Hudson River.