The Web Gallery of Art is a virtual museum and searchable database of European fine arts, decorative arts and architecture from the 3rd to 19th centuries. It was started in 1996 as a topical site of Renaissance art, originated in the Italian city-states of the 14th century and spread to other countries in the 15th and 16th centuries. Intending to present Renaissance art as comprehensively as possible, we later extended the scope of the collection to show its Medieval roots as well as its evolution to Baroque and Rococo via Mannerism. Encouraged by the feedback from users, we set up sections for decorative arts and architecture. Furthermore, we increased the scope of the collection to include Early Christian and Pre-Romanesque art and architecture of the 3rd-10th centuries. Finally, we covered 19th-century art, extended to the beginning of World War I. We do not intend to present 20th-century and contemporary art.

The collection has some of the characteristics of a virtual museum. The experience of the visitors is enhanced by guided tours helping to understand the artistic and historical relationship between different works and artists, by period music of choice in the background and a free postcard service. At the same time, the collection serves the visitors' need for a site where various information on art, artists and history can be found together with corresponding pictorial illustrations. Although not a conventional one, the collection is a searchable database supplemented by a glossary containing articles on art terms, relevant historical events, personages, cities, museums and churches.