The Louvre Abu Dhabi is finally open to the public

The Louvre des Sables (Louvre of the Sands), as it was nicknamed, was conceived in 2007. The city of Abu Dhabi has a 30 year agreement with the French government, according to which Louvre Abu could borrow the art world’s most widely recognised brand name (in addition, US$525 million was paid by Abu Dhabi to be associated with the Louvre name), along with about 300 treasures from the 13 key French institutions, most saliently the Louvre, but also from the Musée d’Orsay, the Château Fontainebleau, the Centre Pompidou and others.

In fact, these artworks will be on display in the opening year alone, including the famous works by the masters as Leonardo da Vinci, Henri Matisse, Edouard Manet and Vincent van Gogh.

The highly-anticipated museum has caused a massive buzz across the global art scene ever since the ambitious project was unveiled. The concept of the museum was born from an intergovernmental agreement between Abu Dhabi and France.

Inspired by the medina (the old walled part of a town) and low-lying Arab settlements, Nouvel applied a contextual approach to the site, designing the Louvre Abu Dhabi as a ‘museum city' in the sea with its contrasting series of 55 white buildings.

The 180 meter-wide and eight-layered dome covers the majority of the museum, and is one of its defining features. The complex pattern of the dome is the result of a studied geometric design, repeated at various sizes and angles in eight superimposed layers. So each ray of sunlight that hits the dome has to penetrate the eight layers before appearing, then disappearing, creating a cinematic effect inside the structure.

Louvre Abu Dhabi’s story begins in the "Great Vestibule" where visitors are introduced to the important themes such as maternity and funerary rituals.
The dialogue between the works from different geographical territories highlights similarities between the canons despite each having its own mode of expression.
The galleries are both chronological and thematic, and subdivided into 12 chapters.

The temporary exhibitions, with loans from the Louvre and elsewhere, will be changed four times a year. The inaugural show, which includes masterpieces by Leonardo da Vinci, Giovanni Bellini and Titian, focuses on the collection of the Louvre.

In a section about Modernity visitors could see paintings by Vincent van Gogh, Claude Monet, Gustave Caillebotte. There is also Edouard Manet’s The Gypsy, Paul Gauguin's Breton Boys Wrestling, Piet Mondrian’s Composition with Blue, Red, Yellow and Black.

Title illustration: Osman Hamdi Bey. A Young Emir Studying, Oil on canvas, Istanbul, 1878, 45.5 cm x 90 cm, Louvre Abu Dhabi

Based on materials artdaily.com, The Times, The Bloomberg