Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Smart News / Smart News Arts & Culture

The virtual museum features seven rooms focused on themes such as correspondence, music and flirtation.

Virtual Travel

Explore Vermeer’s Surviving Paintings, Together After All This Time, in One Virtual Exhibition

The augmented reality “Meet Vermeer” experience details the Dutch Old Master’s artistic style, life and enduring legacy

Left: A photo once identified as Vincent van Gogh, now believed to depict his brother Theo van Gogh Right: Theo van Gogh, aged thirty-two.

Rare Photo of Vincent van Gogh Likely Depicts the Artist’s Brother

There is only one other known photographic portrait of the artist, who eschewed photography

The great James Chambers aka Jimmy Cliff performing in 2012.

Trending Today

Reggae Officially Declared Global Cultural Treasure

The music, which emerged from Jamaica in the 1960s, was added to Unesco’s global Intangible Cultural Heritage list

All your favorite songs from the neighborhood are back

Now Streaming: The Entire Catalogue of “Sesame Street” Songs

The show has re-launched its record label with songs both old and new

The Most Beautiful Time of Life (Die Schönste Zeit des Lebens), as adapted from the manuscript found at the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum archive

Listen Live: The First Public Performance of Music by Auschwitz I Men’s Orchestra Since the War

A University of Michigan scholar unearthed the musical manuscript penned by three Polish prisoners in the archives of the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum

Pulter's poems offer an intimate glimpse into the private life of a 17th-century noblewoman

Critically Explore 17th-Century Noblewoman’s Little-Known Poems Online

Hester Pulter’s works detail chaotic political landscape of the English Civil War, scientific discoveries, theological queries, personal struggles

"Rome Reborn" currently features site-specific tours of the Roman forum and the Basilica Maxentius

Virtual Travel

Ambitious VR Experience Restores 7,000 Roman Buildings, Monuments to Their Former Glory

You can take an aerial tour of the city circa 320 A.D. or stop by specific sites for in-depth exploration

Trending Today

North, South Korea Form Tag Team to Get Traditional Wrestling Unesco Heritage Status

The two nations filed a historic joint application to place traditional Korean wrestling on the world cultural heritage listing

'Statue of Unity" presently holds the record for world's tallest statue with a towering height of nearly 600 feet.

India Is Building the World’s Tallest Statue—Again

The monument of the Hindu god Ram is expected to stand 725 feet tall, and it plays a role in the country’s complex political landscape

Pieter Bruegel the Elder, "The Battle Between Carnival and Lent," 1559

Online Portal Reveals Pieter Bruegel the Elder’s Creative Process

The project’s launch coincides with a blockbuster Vienna retrospective celebrating the 450th anniversary of the Flemish old master’s death

Trending Today

Berlin’s Famous East Side Gallery Protected from Development

The outdoor gallery on a former section of Berlin Wall has been threatened by a building boom in recent years

"Mrs. Tabitha's Cats Academy"

Cats in Literature? It’s a Long Tail

A new exhibition at the British Library explores how cats have inspired—and frightened—writers across the centuries

The Leaning Tower of Pisa Has Gotten a Little Straighter

Engineers announced that the famed structure’s tilt has reduced by about 1.5 inches

A Rapa Nui sculptor has offered to create an exact replica of the famed Easter Island head

Rapa Nui Representatives Visit British Museum to Discuss Repatriation of Moai Statue

The four-ton sculpture was taken from an island temple and gifted to Queen Victoria in 1869

Quai Branly Museum in Paris houses a collection with more than 300,000 indigenous art of Africa, Asia, America and Oceania.

French Report Recommends the Full Restitution of Looted African Artworks

The report was commissioned by President Emmanuel Macron, who has advocated for repatriation

Civil War Photo Sleuth's software identifies up to 27 "facial landmarks" evident in images uploaded to database

Art Meets Science

Facial Recognition Software Is Helping Identify Unknown Figures in Civil War Photographs

Civil War Photo Sleuth aims to be the world’s largest, most complete digital archive of identified and unidentified Civil War-era portraits

The Golden Record features images of life on Earth, nature sounds, greetings recorded in 55 different languages

Art Meets Science

New Catalogue Describes Everything We’ve Sent Into Space

Entries include Doritos’ advertisement, Klingon Opera invitation, Beatles song

The Statue of Liberty’s Original Torch Gets a New Home

The torch, which was replaced in the 1980s, has been moved to a new museum on Liberty Island

The museum featured replicas of a pioneer school, mining cabin, blacksmith's shop and more

Paradise’s Gold Nugget Museum Falls Victim to Camp Fire

The beloved local institution was founded in 1973 to commemorate the town’s prospecting past

Monet's "Water Lilies" panels were installed at the Musee d'Orangerie in 1927, one year after the artist's death

Step Into Claude Monet’s World With This Immersive VR Exploration of ‘Water Lilies’

New VR experience whisks participants from Paris museum to Impressionist’s Giverny garden and studio

Page 153 of 290