Art Masters: A virtual reality experience

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China | FCN

The five treasures have left the museum for the first time! The world’s first stop of the «Art Masters: A virtual reality experience» has landed in Shanghai

The Spanish Chamber strongly supports this VR exhibition and has built a bridge between the sponsor TDG and Acciona Living & Culture, making this VR exhibition possible.

«Art Masters: A Virtual Reality Experience» – the world’s first interactive VR exhibition of its kind – made its global debut on July 4th. This groundbreaking project is presented by Shanghai Jiushi Art Museum, produced by Acciona Living & Culture in collaboration with Spain’s Museo Nacional del Prado, sponsored by TDG, and distributed by Chengdu Future Ze Dian Technology Co., Ltd. after two years of dedicated development.

As the fourth core exhibition of the «2025 Spanish Art Season» in the Jiushi Art Museum community, visitors wear equipment and shuttle through the multiverse of 5 treasures of the Prado museum, «venturing» into the palace and «falling» into the paintings, experiencing the collision of Spanish art and technology.

For the first time, five masterpieces from the museum’s collection «leave» their home, inviting audiences on a transcendent journey through art and time. The voyage begins with the radiant Sense of Sight (1617) by Bruegel and Rubens, then plunges into the labyrinth of mirrors in Velázquez’s enigmatic Las Meninas (1656). As Veronese’s mythological tragedy Venus and Adonis (c. 1580) collapses into a Baroque love fable before your eyes, Goya’s shadowy strokes in The Witches’ Sabbath (1819–1823) silently guide you toward the forbidden murals of Quinta del Sordo. Finally, the surreal visions of Bosch’s The Garden of Earthly Delights (1490–1500) explode across space like a cosmic dawn—revealing how the prophetic artist, five centuries ago, conjured a psychedelic allegory of humanity’s eternal dance between spirit and desire.

It is worth mentioning that this exhibition combines masterpieces of painting, drama, film, and the latest virtual reality technology. Visitors can not only immerse themselves in the virtual world 360 ° to observe the artistic treasures of the Prado, but also «step into» the painting, use a magnifying glass to view the details of the works, interact with the elements in the painting with their hands, and «infiltrate» the security office of the Prado Museum to discover hidden levels, experiencing an immersive night tour of the Prado Museum and feeling the spiritual universe of the artist’s creation.

In addition, the exhibition also set up an interactive section on site. Before the exhibition, visitors can peek through small holes to understand the actual display of the 5 treasures of the hall at the Prado Museum. After the exhibition, they can also take photos in the interactive check-in area to become «painted people» and preserve this unique artistic experience.

On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the establishment of a comprehensive strategic partnership between China and the Spain, this immersive interactive exhibition, as the first stop of the Prado Museum’s interactive virtual reality project in the world, has received strong support from the Spanish Embassy in China. The Prado Museum in Spain is also committed to using virtual reality and interactive technology through this project to launch a new exhibition mode that allows the museum’s treasures to «travel the world», allowing visitors to experience the artistic heritage of the Prado Museum without leaving Shanghai.

At the same time, as one of the core projects of the «2025 Spanish Art Season», Jiushi Art Museum relies on multi museum linkage, empowers humanities with technology, and activates the Bund with art. Through this exhibition, we hope to bring a passionate and transcendent viewing experience to the general public, tourists, and art enthusiasts, while also promoting the exchange, development, and dissemination of art and culture between the two countries.

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