Explore Art in 3D on the Met Website

BY Lorraine Ferrier TIMEApril 17, 2026 PRINT

The Temple of Dendur, completed in 10 B.C., from Nubia, Dendur, on the West bank of the Nile River. Aeolian sandstone; 21 foot by 21 foot by 41 foot. Given to the United States by Egypt in 1965 and awarded to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1967. (Public Domain)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art recently published more than 100 three-dimensional images of works of art on its website. As part of its ongoing Open Access Program, the New York museum’s imaging department uploaded the first 100 high-fidelity images to its online collection pages, with more three-dimensional images becoming available over time.

The high-definition models allow visitors unprecedented access to The Met’s collection outside of open hours—and even inside its objects. Online visitors can now click on the “View in 3D” icon and “zoom, rotate, and view masterpieces from every angle in stunning detail.” They can also view the models through augmented reality on smartphones and VR headsets, the museum announced.

Website visitors can now view and experience The Met’s collection anew in three dimensions. They can enter the Egyptian Temple of Dedu completed around 10 B.C. from Aeolian sandstone in Nubia on the west bank of the Nile River, Africa; admire lions felling antelope on a 3rd-century marble sarcophagus from Rome; trace the gnarled trunk and delicate plum blossoms of Kano Sansetsu’s “Old Plum,” painted in 1646, on a set of golden Zen temple screens from Kyoto, Japan.

The Met’s Imaging Department also partnered with NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation) and used laser scanners and photography techniques to accurately survey and map models of nine objects that cannot be captured with traditional imaging methods. These include a rare set of parade armor that belonged to Henry II, king of France (circa 1555); a pair of six-panel folding screens titled “Amusements at Higashiyama in Kyoto” (circa 1620s); Antonio Canova’s marble sculpture “Perseus With the Head of Medusa” (1804–1806); and Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux’s marble sculpture “Ugolino and His Sons” (1865–1867).

Epoch Times Photo — A detail of “Ugolino and His Sons,” 1865–1867, by Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux. Saint-Béat marble. Anyone visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art website can now zoom in on a high- fidelity, three-dimensional model of Carpeaux’s incredible marble sculpture depicting soft flesh. (Public Domain)

Nothing can replace or replicate an in-person museum visit. But viewing these new three-dimensional models online might whet one’s appetite to visit The Met’s more than 1.5 million works of art.

To find out more, visit MetMuseum.org

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Lorraine Ferrier

Lorraine Ferrier writes about fine arts and craftsmanship for The Epoch Times. She focuses on artists and artisans, primarily in North America and Europe, who imbue their works with beauty and traditional values. She's especially interested in giving a voice to the rare and lesser-known arts and crafts, in the hope that we can preserve our traditional art heritage. She lives and writes in a London suburb, in England.