While museums around the world are shuttered due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Apollo’s usual weekly pick of exhibition openings will be replaced by a selection of digital initiatives providing virtual access to art and culture.
In 2016 Sir John Soane’s Museum completed a £7 million restoration project, the highlight of which was the unveiling of Sir John and Eliza Soane’s private apartments on the second floor of their home at Lincoln’s Inn Fields. Since having to shut, the museum has shared on its website a new three-part series taking audiences behind the scenes of its recent restoration. Originally broadcast on television, each episode is around 40 minutes long, offering in-depth insight into the challenges of preserving the past while opening it up for future audiences. The museum has also created an excellent 3D tour of two of its best-loved spaces: the Model Room in the private apartments, and the Sepulchral Chamber in the basement of the house, where Soane chose to display the sarcophagus of the Egyptian pharaoh Seti I. Visit the museum’s website to watch ‘Opening Up The Soane’ and take the 3D tour here.
Preview below | View Apollo’s Art Diary here
The Model Room after conservation as part of ‘Opening Up The Soane’. Photo: Gareth Gardner
Screenshot showing the Model Room in the ‘Explore Soane’ 3D tour
Screenshot showing the sarcophagus of Seti I in the ‘Explore Soane’ 3D tour