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The Museum of ThroughView

Gareth Griffiths
The XR School › Art › The Museum of ThroughView
$9.99 Erwin Wolf • MarWin Studios Virtual gallery PC VR • SteamVR
Released 17 August 2017 • 54 paintings and photographs converted to 3D

The Museum of ThroughView

A virtual museum where famous paintings and historic photographs have been converted from 2D into 3D. Walk among works by Rembrandt, Bierstadt and Monet, and a special exhibition of Jacob Riis's photographs of New York before 1900.

Developer: Erwin Wolf
Publishers: MarWin Studios, ThroughView
Platform: PC VR via SteamVR
Subject: Art • History • Photography
5.4
/10
XR School Score
Niche
Famous artworks in 3D • Background on each piece • Jacob Riis exhibition • Very few reviews • PC VR only • Interpretive conversions
$9.99 • Steam 2 user reviews
Overview

The Museum of ThroughView is a virtual reality museum by Erwin Wolf, published by MarWin Studios and ThroughView, and released on Steam on 17 August 2017 for $9.99. It displays 54 famous paintings and old photographs that have been converted from 2D into 3D, so you can see them with depth in VR. Background information is available for each work.

The collection includes paintings by Rembrandt, Albert Bierstadt and Claude Monet, and a special exhibition of photographs of New York from before 1900 by the social reformer and photographer Jacob Riis. Miniature models placed around the museum show the source from which the 3D images were generated. It runs on SteamVR at standing or room scale, is English only and has very few user reviews.

A Different Way to Look Turning a painting into 3D is an act of interpretation: someone has decided how deep each part of the scene should be. That makes the museum a good starting point for asking how artists create the illusion of depth on a flat surface, and how much a 3D version adds or changes.
What You Can Do
🖼️
View in 3D
See paintings and photos with depth.
ℹ️
Read background
Information about each work.
📷
Jacob Riis
A special exhibition of old New York photographs.
🔍
Compare
Look at the models behind the 3D images.
Practical Notes The museum needs a PC capable of VR. With only two user reviews there is very little independent feedback, so preview it first. The Jacob Riis photographs document poverty in nineteenth century New York and may need context for younger students.
Classroom Value
Art interest
6.4
Historical value
6.0
Curriculum links
5.5
Ease of setup
4.5
Depth of content
5.0
Strengths and Limitations
Strengths
  • 54 well known works in 3D
  • Background information for each piece
  • Jacob Riis exhibition links art and social history
  • Shows depth and perspective in a new way
Considerations
  • PC VR only
  • Very few user reviews
  • 3D conversions are interpretations, not originals
  • English only
  • Older release
For Teachers: Perspective and Depth Use the museum in KS3 art lessons on perspective, showing a painting in 3D and asking how the artist created depth in 2D. In history, the Jacob Riis exhibition supports work on urban poverty and reform in the late nineteenth century.
$9.99
PC VR via SteamVR
Get on Steam → More art apps →
Quick Facts
Developer
Erwin Wolf
Publishers
MarWin Studios, ThroughView
Release
17 August 2017
Price
$9.99
Works
54 paintings and photographs
Platform
SteamVR
Language
English
Verdict
The Museum of ThroughView is an unusual idea: famous paintings and photographs converted into 3D, with background on each. It is little reviewed, PC VR only and the conversions are interpretations, but it can spark good discussion about perspective and depth in art lessons.
Platform: PC VR
Subject: Art • History
Key Stage: KS3 to KS5
Price: $9.99
Review: The XR School, October 2026

Gareth Griffiths

Gareth Griffiths is a scientist and the founder of World of Teaching, a free library of over 1,000 teacher made PowerPoints. He set up The XR School to help teachers, schools and parents find virtual and augmented reality apps that genuinely help young people learn, and to give an honest view of what each app teaches, which headsets it needs and what it costs.