--- title: "Broke Museums Are Selling NFTs of Famous Paintings by Raphael and Da Vinci" description: "Museums financially strapped by the pandemic have turned to non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to help them recoup money from eager collectors." date: "2022-03-26" modified: "2022-03-26" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/museums-selling-nfts" categories: - "Blockchain" - "Future Society" - "NFTs" tags: - "art" - "museums" - "nfts" - "the digest" --- # Broke Museums Are Selling NFTs of Famous Paintings by Raphael and Da Vinci ![Museums financially strapped by the pandemic have turned to non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to help them recoup money from eager collectors.]() *golden picture frame isolatet on white \Image: Getty Images\* ## Museum Madness Museums financially strapped by the pandemic have turned to non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to help them recoup money — and are even selling digital reproductions of famous masterpieces. As [*The New York Times* reports](), some European galleries and museums have begun selling NFT reproductions of works by like the likes of Leonardo da Vinci, Caravaggio, Raphael, and Gustav Klimt. In partnership with the Italian company Cinello, which in 2021 [patented an NFT method]() involving high-resolution reproductions that are displayed on backlit screens placed inside period-appropriate frames, the digital-focused Unit London art dealership, as the *Times* notes, just closed out a [showcase of Italian masterpieces reproduced as NFTs](). The show, titled "[Externalising Art History]()," is the latest effort for cash-strapped museums — like the Italian galleries where the originals from the showcase are housed — to raise money while also cashing in on the NFT craze. https://twitter.com/artmajeur/status/1494249572671135744 ## Pretty Penny To be clear, not all the museums hopping on the NFT trend are broke. The British Museum, for instance, has jumped headfirst into the hubbub, [inking an exclusive five-year contract]() with the Ethereum blockchain-based LaCollection platform that will only stand to make the institution famed for [owning countless stolen antiquities]() even richer. The final NFT sales figures raised by these museums and galleries as listed in the *Times* initially seem demure by art world standards — from the $444,000 [raised by the State Hermitage Museum in Russia]() for NFT replicas to the 10,000 digital reproductions of Gustav Klimt's "The Kiss" [sold at roughly 1,850 euros each]() for Valentine's Day. But considering that these aren't original works of art — remember, they're just high-resolution replicas that confer dubious ownership status — those numbers start to look awfully high. Once again, NFT enthusiasts have accidentally stumbled into the *très* postmodern argument about [what constitutes art](). There's no denying that good reproductions are worth paying good money for, but when those replicas also carry [a high environmental price tag](), it truly makes one question whether it's worth it at all. **READ MORE:** [Museums Are Cashing In on NFTs]() \[*The New York Times*\] **More on NFTs:** [*The Dune NFT Project Is Back With an Inscrutable New Scheme*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()