The Old Masters Picture Gallery in Dresden, Germany has established a virtual presence in Second Life, as Wired Magazine reported earlier today. The real gallery in Dresden was founded nearly 300 years ago, boasting a 37,700 square feet space in a 150-year-old building.

Dresden’s virtual presence marks the first official move of a RL museum to the virtual world. As Wired reported, “virtual versions of other collections (most famously “Second Louvre,” which has no official ties to the Paris museum) have [also] popped up.”

Dresden’s virtual reproduction has been recreated with immense accuracy and detail. As Wired reported, “the grounds outside, have been recreated, down to the trash cans and fountains in the courtyard and ceiling moldings, staircases and furniture within.”

Dresden’s Second Life build is a must see! The Gallery houses 750 paintings of The Old Masters, spanning 500 years of European art.