The Met releases high-def 3D scans of 140 famous art objects

(openculture.com)

187 points | by coloneltcb 7 hours ago

21 comments

  • callumprentice 5 hours ago
    Trivial to see the raw GLB files in a Viewer that gives you a bit more control.

    https://github.khronos.org/glTF-Sample-Viewer-Release/?model...

  • Stevvo 5 hours ago
    The original article is https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2026/03/metropolitan-museum-o... Not sure why that is not linked, instead we have an AI generated SEO spam page.
    • PaulHoule 4 hours ago
      For what it's worth I thought the modal dialog on the original was worse than the pop-over ad on the copy.
  • samcgraw 28 minutes ago
    So cool!

    It recently dawned on me how we have a staggering amount of art available in these archives (https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/, https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en, the Met, etc). It's truly staggering. Can't wait to use these images for my side project[0].

    [0] https://flaneur.ink

  • IAmNotACellist 4 hours ago
    Here's a little script to download all the publicly available scans (135) as GLBs and stick the metadata in a JSON. The scans are all CC0 (public domain)

    https://github.com/InconsolableCellist/met_scans

  • danielvaughn 5 hours ago
    Glad this was one of the objects captured, it's absolutely stunning to see in person: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/24671

    I wish they had captured one of their Faberge eggs; those are almost more impressive.

  • jandrese 6 hours ago
    It's kind of annoying that the 3D viewer on their website keep you a respectful distance away from the object like you might try to touch it if you got too close.
    • knolan 6 hours ago
      It works really well with the AR viewer on mobile Safari.
      • LeifCarrotson 5 hours ago
        Interesting, on desktop Firefox I can barely zoom in past the point that the object fills the FOV.

        I want to be permitted to navigate up close to a point where I can see the pixels and triangle meshes, as if I was a millimeter away from some brush stroke or chisel mark, and then back out just a bit.

      • Uncorrelated 1 hour ago
        For anyone wondering, you can access this by tapping the button showing a 3D cube at the bottom left of the 3D viewer. The button may be cut off if you're viewing in a web view in another app like I was.

        The AR viewer runs with a much higher frame rate and you can get closer to the model. However the lighting is significantly worse, which ruins the appeal. The in-browser viewer is choppy and I can feel my phone getting a little warm, but it looks a lot more like viewing the real artifacts.

    • virgil_disgr4ce 2 hours ago
      It appears they arbitrarily limit the zoom such that the object stays within the browser frame. On my gigantic monitor I can get super close. Lame that they set it to stop like that
  • jsd1982 42 minutes ago
    Very cool! Checking out the Van Gogh painting in the viewer I can just barely see the depth of the brush strokes. Shame you can't look 90 degrees off axis to see the protrusion effect with the bulky outer frame in the way.
  • minihoster 6 hours ago
    Anyone know how the material roughness/metallic is captured? For instance here https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/253348. I've only seen basic albedo for 3D scans before. Maybe it's just hand-authored.
    • utopiah 6 hours ago
      No idea what they used but I know that in Brussels they use CultArm3D FT20 by https://verus.digital basically a camera on a robot arm.
    • alecail 5 hours ago
      From what I saw in that file and a few others (in USDZ), the metalness is not captured. It's in 0/1_b.jpg , and the file is always pure white. You are only seeing roughness I opened them in Houdini and it translates to a USDPreview material, with those PBR channels connected: basecolor, roughness (decent map), metallic (no data, juste white) and normal map (decent map too)
  • mturilin 2 hours ago
    How easy is it to 3D print them?
  • jonhohle 6 hours ago
    > Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

    >

    > To request images under copyright and other restrictions, …

    If these are available as public domain with unrestricted use without fee, what is the use case for requesting a version under copyright with restrictions?

    • cwillu 35 minutes ago
      Images 1, 2, 3 are under open access

      Images 4, 5, 6 are still under copyright

      Images 7, 8, 9 have usage restrictions

    • kaizenb 4 hours ago
      No idea. But I've integrated their API to a commercial project (https://bookmarker.cc) without any issues. Users are exploring The Met Collection and save images to their library directly in the app.

      > Through The Met Collection API, users can connect to a live feed of all Creative Commons Zero (CC0) data and 406,000 images from the The Met collection, all available for use without copyright or restriction. The Met Collection API is another foundational step in our Open Access program, helping make the Museum's collection one of the most accessible, discoverable, and useful on the internet. The Met Collection API is where all makers, creators, researchers, and dreamers can now connect to the most up-to-date data and images of artworks in The Met collection, representing five thousand years of human history.

      source: https://www.metmuseum.org/perspectives/met-collection-api-2

    • dfxm12 6 hours ago
      Not everything is open access data and public domain images.

      This image is tagged open access & public domain: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/321937

      This image is not: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/492371

  • Chronoz99 1 hour ago
    This data needs to be reprocessed to make 3D gaussian splats instead.
  • beckerdo 4 hours ago
    Absolutely beautiful scans. Thanks Met. Wonderful art that brightened my day.
  • Eduard 3 hours ago
    > high-def 3D scans

    maybe 15, 20 years ago. I especially found the glossy shader goofy. No authentic replication, more 2000s gaming vibes. they should use gaussian splatting instead

    • dmarcos 3 hours ago
      I wish they would also publish the source images used to generate the 3D representation so people can recreate with other techniques.
  • teachrdan 5 hours ago
    Any recommendations for art objects worth 3D printing at home? Bonus points if it would appeal to a grade schooler.
    • voxleone 19 minutes ago
      These scans seem perfect for fabrication experiments.

      I’ve been trying a workflow where the mesh is inverted and used to generate a 3D-printed mold, then I gelcast zirconia ceramic into it and sinter it. The result is a dense ceramic version of the sculpture.

      If you downscale the models they work well as small desktop statues or relief friezes, and ceramic casting can preserve surprisingly fine detail from the scan.

  • xattt 6 hours ago
    I see the “spinning” view in browser, but I don’t see an option to download the STLs.

    Edit: It appears the usdz AR file can be converted to obj/stl files.

    • alecail 5 hours ago
      Each of the models is available in fbx, usdz and glb if you dig a bit in the page. It's in a json file named masters
  • infocollector 6 hours ago
    Does anyone know where the STL/OBJ files for the 3d models are at?
    • utopiah 6 hours ago
      Check your browser console, network tab, search for .glb and you can directly download them.
    • alecail 5 hours ago
      Look for the file named masters, it's a json file that contains the filenames for those formats: glb usdz fbx
  • bilsbie 5 hours ago
    I wanted to try printing one but so far all of them seem like they’d be kind of disturbing to display in my house.
  • utopiah 6 hours ago
    Great use of WebXR.

    Works well both on the Vision Pro (USDz format) and Meta Quest (glTF binary format).

    That being said without the right mediation, without some context... unless you already are an expert in the domain what's the point?

  • toomuchtodo 7 hours ago
  • junglistguy 1 hour ago
    [dead]
  • themarogee 3 hours ago
    [flagged]