In a skyline dotted with tall towers and glitzy glass cladding, this structure would appear modest and 'low' profile, but then it is not the building but its art that has to stand out as its architect, Jean Nouvel would say. “I wanted to create a neighbourhood of art, rather than a building” he said.
Standing on the beach of Saadiya Island, Louvre Abu Dhabi, as it has come to be named, with its metallic domed roof would not only stand out as a rarity by Abu Dhabi's architecture trend, but also serve to convey a message of serene art, subdued building culture and aesthetic calm. This time no altitude contest here: even the pinnacle of Louvre Abu Dhabi stands just 30 metres high. To say it is a museum par excellence in the region would be a bit of an understatement.
The museum comprises 55 white buildings topped by an iconic metallic dome, with a meticulously organized mix of galleries - all different from one another which take visitors on a global journey through 12 chapters, arranged chronologically displaying exhibits ranging from prehistoric artefacts to contemporary art works – a typical paradigm intended to drive home the thread that runs through different cultures and regions throughout the ages.
Louvre Paris, the legendary French landmark and a definite destination in the French capital of any visitor - be he of the calm art-loving variety or the fast-track tourist - is getting an overseas presence by its name for the first time through a 30-year deal with Abu Dhabi worth close to 900 million US Dollar to use its name.
The museum is a product of a 2007 agreement between the UAE and French governments. The deal loans the name of the renowned Louvre Museum for 30 years and six months, along with temporary exhibitions for 15 years, and artworks from 13 leading French institutions for a decade.
At present, more than 50 per cent of the professionals — such as curators, educators and support service staff — at the museum are Emirati.
As of now the Louvre Abu Dhabi has acquired 620 pieces as part of its permanent collection, including an ancient Bactrian princess from the beginning of the second millennium BCE, a leaf from the Blue Quran dating back to about 900AD, and French artist Paul Gauguin’s 1888 piece, Children Wrestling. These are housed in a series of 55 white buildings topped by an iconic metallic dome, along with 300 loaned items from French and regional museums.
In addition to what are in display, the Abu Dhabi Louvre also boasts of how the exhibits are displayed as its unique feature. The organization follows a chronological trail, and in a manner that shows the shared human experience across civilizations, as explained by Jean-Francois Charnier, scientific director at Agence France-Museums, an organization tasked with executing the commitment of France toward the Louvre Abu Dhabi.
As Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE said at the inauguration “Louvre Abu Dhabi will be a meeting point for lovers of art, culture and beauty all around the world. With the opening of this museum, Abu Dhabi has become the capital of art, architecture and mankind’s heritage” of course thereby standing tall - without a tall tower this time.