The Met Gala 2026 red carpet doubled as an art history final.

The Costume Institute’s 2026 exhibition, “Costume Art,” came with a dress code of “Fashion Is Art” — and plenty of attendees did their research, pulling references from the very museum they were walking into.

From Renaissance paintings to Pop Art sculptures and works hanging in the Met’s own permanent collection, Monday night’s carpet could have come with a gallery guide.

Here are the artworks behind the most creative looks of the night.

Heidi Klum, inspired by Raffaele Monti’s “Veiled Vestal “

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The supermodel arrived looking like a museum piece come to life , channeling Italian sculptor Raffaele Monti’s 19th-century “Veiled Vestal” with prosthetics made from foam and latex, thanks to Mike Marino.

Klum told Vogue she found the reference while browsing the Met’s galleries: “I was like, ‘I want to become her!'”

Madonna, inspired by Leonora Carrington’s “The Temptation of St. Anthony.…