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| Model of the Louvre Abu Dhabi which is expected to open next year. |
Many people have already heard about the opening of a museum with the Louvre name in the United Arab Emirates. The Louvre Abu Dhabi is scheduled to open in December 2015.
A preview of some of the most significant pieces of the new museum is currently on display at the Louvre in Paris in the show Birth of a Museum. The works are characterized by diversity and splendor. For example, a lovely small, calcite Princess statuette (around 1,000 BC Central Asia), a gold bracelet with exquisite lions incrusted at each end (around 700 BC), a marble Buddha head from India, an octagonal box inlaid with mother-of-pearl and tortoise shell (China, Tang dynasty); they are all treasures that take one’s breath away.
If we look to the paintings, the Western works alone comprise a wonderful collection that covers many eras and various subjects. It includes the founder of the Venetian painting Giovanni Bellini’s Madonna and Child, France’s Corot’s landscapes full of poetic sentiment, Manet’s the Bohemian, along with works by Picasso and Magritte as well as the mono-color painting of Yves Klein. The display also deserves attention. A Japanese scroll faces a statue emphasizing the shapely physical body, Indian, Turkish and Persian miniatures vie for beauty, while an art deco table is placed before a screen.
In December 2012, the Louvre opened a new wing in the former coalmining town of Lens in Northern France. Its main and very popular exhibit “Gallery of Time” allows visitors to view in one large space the history of several thousand years from the East and West, that include the Louvre’s pieces from the time of the birth of the written language to 19th century paintings and sculptures. In turn, the Louvre Abu Dhabi uses “universal” as its catch phrase and has collected works from around the world. The art was gathered under the auspices of the governmental organization Agence France Museums which is comprised of 12 national art museums and public establishments including the Louvre, the Center Pompidou, the Musée d’Orsay, the Orangerie, the Grand Palais and Versaille. France and the UAE agreed upon the Louvre Abu Dhabi project seven years ago, both banking their governments’ prestige on its success.
The two countries realize the weight of opening the Arab region’s first world-class museum under the Louvre name. (The name may be used for 30 years.) The works will be loaned from the collections of the above organizations and center around those being previewed in the Paris exhibit. If one considers the scale of the preview, we can certainly look forward with anticipation to the opening next year.
Birth of a Museum until July 28.
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| Bactrian princess Central Asia, late third-early second millennium BCE |
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| Japanese scrolls and Roman sculptures together contribute to create a space of both serenity and motion |
In December 2012, the Louvre opened a new wing in the former coalmining town of Lens in Northern France. Its main and very popular exhibit “Gallery of Time” allows visitors to view in one large space the history of several thousand years from the East and West, that include the Louvre’s pieces from the time of the birth of the written language to 19th century paintings and sculptures. In turn, the Louvre Abu Dhabi uses “universal” as its catch phrase and has collected works from around the world. The art was gathered under the auspices of the governmental organization Agence France Museums which is comprised of 12 national art museums and public establishments including the Louvre, the Center Pompidou, the Musée d’Orsay, the Orangerie, the Grand Palais and Versaille. France and the UAE agreed upon the Louvre Abu Dhabi project seven years ago, both banking their governments’ prestige on its success.
The two countries realize the weight of opening the Arab region’s first world-class museum under the Louvre name. (The name may be used for 30 years.) The works will be loaned from the collections of the above organizations and center around those being previewed in the Paris exhibit. If one considers the scale of the preview, we can certainly look forward with anticipation to the opening next year.
Birth of a Museum until July 28.
The Louvre
75001 Paris
France
Métro: Palais-Royal Musée du Louvre (lines 1 and 7)
http://www.louvre.fr/en
Night opening until 9:45 p.m. on Wednesdays and Fridays
Closed on Tuesdays, Jan 1, May 1, Dec 25
France
Métro: Palais-Royal Musée du Louvre (lines 1 and 7)
http://www.louvre.fr/en
Opening times:
every day (except Tuesday) from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.Night opening until 9:45 p.m. on Wednesdays and Fridays
Closed on Tuesdays, Jan 1, May 1, Dec 25
Nippon Television Network Corporation has worked with the Louvre on the maintenance and display of the Louvre’s three masterpieces, the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo and the Winged Victory, and periodically jointly hosts the Louvre exhibitions in Japan.
