Role Museum Name WebMuseum WebMuseum | ||
 | ||
Similar Okayama Prefectural Museum, University Museum and Art G, MIT Museum, National Gallery of Art, Museums and the Web | ||
The Webmuseum by Nicolas Pioch, in 1996
The WebMuseum, formerly known as the WebLouvre, was founded by Nicolas Pioch in France in 1994, while still a student. It is one of the earliest examples of a virtual museum. The site won the 1994 Best of the Web award for the "Best Use of Multiple Media".
When the actual Louvre became aware of the original WebLouvre's existence, it was forced to change its name to the WebMuseum. However, many mirror sites were established throughout the world (including websites located in Brazil, Hungary, Japan, Mexico, Norway, Poland, Russia, UK and the United States), making it impossible to eradicate its existence. It still provides an excellent archival and educational resource of good quality art images and information, although it is no longer very actively updated.
Although this virtual museum is French in origin, it is available in English.