The most beautiful museums in the world decorated with stucco. The most beautiful and wonderful museums in the world Contemporary Art Museum of Fort Worth, USA

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Everyone has their own idea of ​​beauty, and many museums fit different definitions of beauty. Good museums become part of their environment using natural materials or a surface with changing light. Many beautiful museums themselves beautify the area where they are located, attracting tourists from all over the world.
Here are some of the most beautiful museums world:

MAS Museum, Antwerp, Belgium

Architects Neutelings(Neutelings) and Ridijk(Riedijk) have given this riverside museum a distinctive modern look using red sandstone brought from India and window glass. The design of the museum is reminiscent of the warehouses used in the old port of Antwerp. Also, if you take a closer look at the 60-meter building of the museum, you will see 3185 silver hands - the symbol of Antwerp. The vertical "boulevard" - several elevators that follow the glass spiral of the building, offers stunning views of the harbor and rooftop from all levels and leads to the roof, open until midnight.

Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, USA

The original limestone building, with its bulky neoclassical design, dates back to the 1930s. In 2007, this museum was renovated with a modern extension in the form of five cubes or "lenses" made of clear glass. These "lenses" developed Stephen Hall(Steven Holl), form a single whole with the surrounding landscape, repeating the curves of the lawn.

Museum of Islamic Art, Doha, Qatar

The Museum of Islamic Art is beautiful with its simple yet dynamic design that echoes traditional Islamic architecture. Pale sand-colored stone blocks form a five-story tower that casts long shadows as night falls. The entrance of the museum, which was built in the harbor on a private artificial island, is led by a row of palm trees and a waterfall.

National Museum of Art, Osaka, Japan

While much of this museum is underground, the visible glass and steel exterior makes a lasting impression, curving 50m into the air. Recognized Architect Cesar Pelli(César Pelli) wanted to depict bamboo canes swaying in the wind, although his creation is still compared to wings. The play of light flows into the lobby, creating an ever-changing gallery space, isolated by a concrete wall approximately 3 meters thick.

Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Canada

Local architects Darling(Darling) and Pearson(Pearson) presented original museum in the style of Italian neo-romanticism in 1914. It has undergone several renovations and additions, but it wasn't until 2007 that a new design debuted" The Crystal". Collection precious stones museum inspired Daniel Libeskind(Daniel Libeskind) on a deconstructivist design of five interlocking prisms made from steel beams, aluminum and glass. Some were shocked by the innovation, while others welcomed the bold decision.

Geggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain

When the museum opened in 1997, designed Frank Gehry(Frank Gehry), which attracts attention with its swirling and reflective walls, it immediately became one of Spain's most popular attractions. The building is made of glass, limestone and titanium panels that look like fish scales. Their organic curves were designed to catch light, and the 15-meter atrium is partially illuminated by light coming from a “metal flower” located on the roof of the building.

Hedmark Museum, Hamar, Norway

The Hedmark Museum is located on 1.6 square meters. kilometers near the lake Miesa and is an exhibition under open air, a restored 18th-century house and herb garden. But the real highlight of the museum are the ruins of the cathedral, built in 1150, which were partially destroyed in 1567. The four large arches that remain today sit beneath a soaring triangle of glass and steel. This place has become popular for weddings and other events, so you may have to wait a while before going inside.

Hermitage, St. Petersburg, Russia

One of oldest museums world, founded by Catherine the Great in 1764, is a complex of six buildings, located between the Neva River and Palace Square. Winter Palace appears in its grandeur, occupying an entire block, where, according to some calculations, there are about 1945 windows. The former imperial residence is decorated with two tiers of columns, golden domes and luxurious galleries in Baroque and Rococo styles.

Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee, USA

Abstract object Memorial Center for the Struggle of Modernists, which later became Milwaukee Art Museum, was created by a famous architect Eero Saarinen(Eero Saarinen). It is made in the shape of a cross of concrete and steel and appears to float on a pedestal. One of distinctive features the museum is Cuadracci Pavilion, a post-modern architectural creation with supports and a vaulted ceiling, on which is mounted a movable sunshade in the form of wings, the span of which reaches 66 meters. At certain times of the day the wings open, and at night or in inclement weather they fold.

Oscar Niemeyer Museum, Curitiba, Brazil

The official name of the museum was given in honor of the Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer(Oscar Niemeyer), who is already 95 years old, but is most often called Eye Museum thanks to its shape. The glass extension "The Eye", completed in 2002, rests on an 18-meter yellow pillar, and the "Eye" itself can be reached along a long curved ramp. The constantly changing reflection of the sky on the outer surface of the glass and the reflecting body of water create an indescribable view. A curved tunnel under the pond connects the addition to the original Niemeyer building, built in 1967.

Orsay Museum, Paris

This elegant building on the Left Bank of the Seine, which originally opened as a train station in 1900, only officially became a museum in 1986. Fortunately, the station's original architectural decoration and majestic Beaux Arts arches still remain. Inside, curved barrel glass ceilings allow natural light to flood the sculptures in the main room. Here you can stop at a café to see the Seine through a huge metal clock, a legacy of the railway museum.

Modern Museum art of Fort Worth, USA

Five pavilions surrounding a tranquil reflecting pond were created by a Japanese architect Tadao Ando(Tadao Ando). The flat-roofed building is made of glass panels that reach a height of 12 meters. They allow natural light for the exhibits and also provide great views of the city. If you decide to visit this museum during the day, you will have the opportunity to view more than 2,600 works contemporary art, but if you pass by the museum at night, for example, having reserved a table at a nearby cafe, you will be able to admire the pavilions, which are illuminated like huge floating lanterns.

National Museum of Australia, Canberra, Australia

This colorful museum, which was created by the architect Howard Raggatt(Howard Raggatt) resembles a knotted rope that symbolically connects several different nations and the history of the country. The entrance to the museum is located in the center of the knot, and one of its back ropes is Uluru line- 29-meter sculpture in the form of a loop. The exterior of the museum, which has a semicircular shape, is covered with aluminum panels on which words are written in Braille.

Solomon Guggenheim Museum, New York, USA

Museum in the form of reinforced concrete spirals, created Frank Lloyd Wright(Frank Lloyd Wright), is a real triumph modern architecture. However, in the 1950s, its design was so alien that it was assigned to a builder experienced in garage construction. Smooth spirals are platforms in the interior of the museum and lead visitors from one exhibition to another, allowing them to admire unique exhibits of art. Although the building itself is considered a true work of art, being a sort of inverted ziggurat, some artists find the museum a challenging place to exhibit their work.

Of the many museums in the world, the BBC, based on surveys of visitors, has compiled a ranking of the most impressive.

Musee d'Orsay in Paris, France

The most beautiful French museum is located in Paris on the banks of the Seine. In 1986, the railway station and hotel were redecorated in the eclectic Beaux Arts style. Initial forms have now become the highlight of the museum: the transparent roof lets in a lot of light, the galleries are collected along the huge nave.

A huge collection of impressionism and post-impressionism is exhibited in d'Orsay, and the museum itself, as conceived by the authors, should cover the gap of eras between the Louvre with its ancient collection and modern paintings of the Pompidou Center.

Guggenheim Museum, Basque Country, Spain

A prominent museum of contemporary art in Bilbao was conceived in the 80s, as the authorities of the Basque Country planned to start spiritual rebirth. Frank Gary's unusual project took first place in the competition, and so by 1997, on the banks of the Nervion River, with the support of the Guggenheim Foundation, an unusual structure covered with smooth titanium plates grew up.

The Guggenheim Museum is called the most outstanding building of our time; its outlines are compared to a starship or a fantasy plant.

Niemeyer Museum in Curitiba, Brazil

The museum is named after the Brazilian architect and its creator Oscar Niemeyer, who celebrated his 95th birthday by the time construction was completed. The building opened in 2003 unusual shape received popular name- "eye". On 600 square meters of exhibition halls, works by artists from all over the world are exhibited, as well as works by Niemeyer.

British Museum Bloomsbury, London, Britain

Inspired by the temples of Ancient Greece, Robert Smerk built an innovative museum in 1852 in the neoclassical style with columns and an original pediment. In 2000 he grew up nearby Big hall- the largest indoor exhibition space in Europe with a glass roof.

Royal Ontario Museum in Canada

It is a symbol of the renewed 21st century Toronto, the largest historical Museum country, which also exhibits cultural and art objects - a total of 6 million items.

In the 1930s, the ancient neo-romantic building acquired a new wing, and in 2007, a new entrance made of metal and glass, the “Michael Lee Chin Crystal,” built with funds from a patron of the arts.

Zumaya Museum in Mexico City, Mexico

The new (second) building of the Zumaya Art Museum, built in 2001, is impressive. Fernando Romero created it in the form of a hyperboloid, decorated with 16,000 aluminum plates. The idea was realized by Frank Gary and Ove Arup.

Inside there is a cultural institute, as well as private collection art objects from Europe and Mexico. It is here that the most extensive collection of Rodin's works outside France is collected.

Hermitage in St. Petersburg, Russia

The Hermitage in St. Petersburg has been striking with its imperial grandeur since 1764. IN former palace 3 million pieces of art have been collected, many of which are priceless.

The project of the former palace complex belongs to the Italian Rastrelli, who loved lush baroque and gilding.

Museum of Islamic Art, Qatar

The unusual cubic five-story museum in Doha harbor began work in 2008. The author of the project, American Bei Yuming, traveled throughout the Middle East in old age to gain inspiration for such a project. At the time of the opening, the architect was 91 years old.

A small courtyard has been created in the center of the museum, which connects both wings. A collection of objects is exhibited in the building Muslim world, covering 1400 years of history.

Vatican Museums

These museums were founded in the 16th century by Julius II, the most Famous places complex: The Sistine Chapel, Galleries of tapestries and maps. There are 52 galleries in total. The walls of the premises are painted by Renaissance masters: Michelangelo, Sandro Botticelli, Perugino. The Vatican has the most extensive collections religious themes, paintings by Titian, Raphael, and Caravaggio are kept here.

National Art Museum in Tokyo, Japan

In 2004, this museum in Tokyo received a new building, conceived by Cesar Pelli in the form of steel stalks of bamboo and reeds intertwined by the wind. It is noteworthy that most of the halls, except for the entrance and foyer, are located underground. The basis of the collection is post-war art.

The Rijksmuseum is a national art museum located on Museum Square in the city of Amsterdam, the Netherlands. It is one of the main attractions of the city. It was founded in The Hague in 1800, but by order of the King of Holland Louis Bonaparte (brother of Napoleon I Bonaparte) in 1808 it was transported to Amsterdam. The museum exhibits 8 thousand objects of art and history, including famous paintings by Jan Wermeer, Frans Hals, Rembrandt and his students. The main place in the exhibition is given to one of the most famous paintings in the world - “ The night Watch» Rembrandt. It also contains a small Asian collection.

The New York Museum of Modern Art is an art museum founded in 1929. Located in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Many people consider the museum's collection to be the world's finest collection of masterpieces of modern Western art - the museum has more than 150,000 individual works, as well as 22,000 films, 4 million photographs, 300,000 copies of books and periodicals, 70,000 artist files. The collection includes works without which it is impossible to imagine the art of the 20th century - “ Starlight Night"Van Gogh, "Dance" by Henri Matisse, " Avignon girls» Picasso, “The Persistence of Memory” by Salvador Dali, “Bird in Space” by Constantin Brâncuşi. It is one of New York's top attractions and welcomes 2.67 million visitors annually.

The Smithsonian Institution is a complex of museums and research centers located primarily in Washington, DC, USA. It was founded in 1846 by the will of the English chemist and mineralogist James Smithson, who bequeathed his fortune to the “increase and dissemination of knowledge.” The Smithsonian Institution includes 19 museums, a zoological park and 9 research centers, containing more than 140 million objects (art, artifacts and specimens).

At number seven on the list best museums World Museum of Natural History is located. It is one of three major museums located in South Kensington, London. Its collection includes more than 70 million artifacts, sorted into 5 main sections: botany, entomology, mineralogy, paleontology and zoology. It is best known for its collections of dinosaur skeletons, in particular the famous Diplodocus skeleton (26 meters long) in the central hall, as well as an interesting mechanical model of a Tyrannosaurus rex.

The Prado is an art museum and gallery located in Madrid, the capital of Spain. With over 1.8 million visitors a year, the museum is one of the most visited tourist sites in Madrid. It was founded in 1819. Its collection currently includes about 7,600 paintings, 1,000 sculptures, 4,800 prints, as well as about 8,000 other works of art and historical documents. Here is one of the best and most complete collections of paintings in the world by European masters of the period XVI-XIX, such as Bosch, Velazquez, Goya, Murillo, Zurbaran, El Greco and others.

Uffizi Gallery- world famous art Gallery, located in Florence, near Piazza della Signoria, Italy. It is one of the oldest museums in Europe, as well as one of the largest and most important museums in Europe. visual arts. Hundreds of masterpieces by such masters as Giotto, Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Giorgione, Titian, Fra Filippo Lippi and many others are presented here. The collection is dominated by paintings by Italian and Flemish schools. There is also a gallery of self-portraits famous artists(1600 works) and ancient sculptures.

State Hermitage Museum- one of the world's largest art and cultural-historical museums, located in St. Petersburg, Russia. It was founded in 1764 by Catherine II the Great and opened to the public in 1852. The total area of ​​the museum is 127,478 m². The collections occupy a large complex of six historical buildings located along the Palace Embankment. The Hermitage holds more than 2.7 million works of art different eras, countries and peoples representing world culture several thousand years. It also contains the most large collection paintings in the world. About 4 million people visit the museum every year.

The British Museum is the main historical and archaeological museum of Great Britain, located in Bloomsbury, London. It was founded in 1753, from the collection of the physician and scientist Sir Hans Sloane, and opened to the public on January 15, 1759. Its permanent collection contains approximately 8 million items that document cultural history humanity from ancient times to the present day, including numerous drawings, engravings, medals, coins and books from different eras. Extensive ethnographic collections British Museum contains monuments from Africa, America, Oceania, etc. The most famous exhibits are: Egyptian mummies, sculptures from the Athens Parthenon, the Rosetta Stone, the Portland Vase, the Sutton Hoo treasure and many others.

The Louvre is an art museum, the main attraction of the city, located in the very center of Paris on the right bank of the Seine. It is one of the largest and most visited museums in the world (9.26 million visitors in 2014). It was opened on August 10, 1793. It is a complex of buildings with a total area of ​​60,600 square meters, which displays 35 thousand works of art from ancient times to mid-19th century. All exhibits are divided into eight categories Ancient Egypt, Ancient Near East, Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, Islamic art, Sculpture, Painting, Crafts, Drawing and graphics. In total, the Louvre collection contains about 300,000 exhibits.

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Everyone has their own idea of ​​beauty, and many museums fit different definitions of beauty.

Good museums become part of their environment, using natural materials or surfaces with changing light.

Many beautiful museums themselves beautify the area where they are located, attracting tourists from all over the world

Here are some of the most beautiful museums in the world:

MAS Museum, Antwerp, Belgium

Architects Neutelings and Riedijk gave this riverside museum a distinctive modern look with red sandstone imported from India and window glass. The design of the museum is reminiscent of the warehouses used in the old port of Antwerp. Also, if you take a closer look at the 60-meter building of the museum, you will see 3185 silver hands - the symbol of Antwerp. The vertical "boulevard" - several elevators that follow the building's glass spiral, offers stunning views of the harbor and rooftop from all levels and leads to the rooftop, open until midnight.

Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, USA

The original limestone building, with its bulky neoclassical design, dates back to the 1930s. In 2007, this museum was renovated with a modern extension in the form of five cubes or "lenses" made of clear glass. These lenses, designed by Steven Holl, blend in with the surrounding landscape, following the curves of the lawn.

Museum of Islamic Art, Doha, Qatar

The Museum of Islamic Art is beautiful with its simple yet dynamic design that echoes traditional Islamic architecture. Pale sand-colored stone blocks form a five-story tower that casts long shadows as night falls. The entrance of the museum, which was built in the harbor on a private artificial island, is led by a row of palm trees and a waterfall.

National Museum of Art, Osaka, Japan

While much of this museum is underground, the visible glass and steel exterior makes a lasting impression, curving 50m into the air. Acclaimed architect César Pelli wanted to depict bamboo canes swaying in the wind, although his creation has been compared to wings. The play of light flows into the lobby, creating an ever-changing gallery space, isolated by a concrete wall approximately 3 meters thick.

Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Canada

Local architects Darling and Pearson presented the original museum in the Italian neo-Romantic style in 1914. It has undergone several renovations and additions, but it wasn't until 2007 that it debuted a new design, "The Crystal." The museum's collection of gemstones inspired Daniel Libeskind's deconstructivist design of five interlocking prisms made from steel beams, aluminum and glass. Some were shocked by the innovation, while others welcomed the bold decision.

Geggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain

When the Frank Gehry-designed museum, with its swirling and reflective walls, opened in 1997, it immediately became one of Spain's most popular attractions. The building is made of glass, limestone and titanium panels that look like fish scales. Their organic curves were designed to catch light, and the 15-meter atrium is partially illuminated by light coming from a “metal flower” located on the roof of the building.

Hedmark Museum, Hamar, Norway

The Hedmark Museum is located on 1.6 square meters. kilometers near Lake Mjösa and features an open-air exhibition, a restored 18th-century house and herb garden. But the real highlight of the museum are the ruins of the cathedral, built in 1150, which were partially destroyed in 1567. The four large arches that remain today sit beneath a soaring triangle of glass and steel. This place has become popular for weddings and other events, so you may have to wait a while before going inside.

Hermitage, St. Petersburg, Russia

One of the oldest museums in the world, founded by Catherine the Great in 1764, is a complex of six buildings located between the Neva River and Palace Square. The Winter Palace appears in its grandeur, occupying an entire block where, according to some estimates, there are about 1945 windows. The former imperial residence is decorated with two tiers of columns, golden domes and luxurious galleries in Baroque and Rococo styles.

Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee, USA

The abstract object Modernist Struggle Memorial Center, which later became the Milwaukee Art Museum, was created by the famous architect Eero Saarinen. It is made in the shape of a cross of concrete and steel and appears to float on a pedestal. One of the hallmarks of the museum is the Cuadracci Pavilion, a post-modern architectural creation with supports and a vaulted ceiling, on which there is a movable sunshade in the form of wings, the span of which reaches 66 meters. At certain times of the day the wings open, and at night or in inclement weather they fold.

Oscar Niemeyer Museum, Curitiba, Brazil

The official name of the museum was given in honor of the 95-year-old Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer, but it is most often called the Museum of the Eye due to its shape. The glass extension "The Eye", completed in 2002, rests on an 18-meter yellow pillar, and the "Eye" itself can be reached along a long curved ramp. The constantly changing reflection of the sky on the outer surface of the glass and the reflecting body of water create an indescribable view. A curved tunnel under the pond connects the addition to the original Niemeyer building, built in 1967.

Orsay Museum, Paris

This elegant building on the Left Bank of the Seine, which originally opened as a train station in 1900, only officially became a museum in 1986. Fortunately, the station's original architectural decoration and majestic Beaux Arts arches still remain. Inside, curved barrel glass ceilings allow natural light to flood the sculptures in the main room. Here you can stop at a café to see the Seine through the huge metal clock, a legacy of the railway museum.

Fort Worth Contemporary Art Museum, USA

The five pavilions surrounding a tranquil reflecting pond were designed by Japanese architect Tadao Ando. The flat-roofed building is made of glass panels that reach a height of 12 meters. They allow natural light for the exhibits and also provide great views of the city. If you visit the museum during the day, you'll be able to view more than 2,600 pieces of contemporary art, but if you pass by the museum at night, perhaps after making a reservation at a nearby café, you'll be able to admire the pavilions, which are lit up like giant floating lanterns.

National Museum of Australia, Canberra, Australia

This colorful museum, which was designed by architect Howard Raggatt, resembles a knotted rope that symbolically connects several different nations and the country's history. The entrance to the museum is located in the center of the node, and one of its back ropes makes up the Uluru Line, a 29-meter loop sculpture. The exterior of the museum, which has a semicircular shape, is covered with aluminum panels on which words are written in Braille.

Solomon Guggenheim Museum, New York, USA

Frank Lloyd Wright's reinforced concrete spiral museum is a true triumph of modern architecture. However, in the 1950s, its design was so alien that it was assigned to a builder experienced in garage construction. Smooth spirals are platforms in the interior of the museum and lead visitors from one exhibition to another, allowing them to admire unique exhibits of art. Although the building itself is considered a true work of art, being a sort of inverted ziggurat, some artists find the museum a challenging place to exhibit their work.