The opening of one of the world's most anticipated cultural attractions is finally announced: the museum will open its doors on November 11.
"Abu Dhabi has put its hand on its heart and said that the Louvre Abu Dhabi’s messages are ones that it wants to send to the rest of the world: messages of unity, acceptance, connectivity and tolerance. These were messages that were important 1,000 years ago, but are even more important today. Abu Dhabi is the beacon that will broadcast these messages to the Arab world and to the rest of the world."
Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, chairman
Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority
The Louvre Abu Dhabi’s spaces will form an interconnected chain with links, which represent a series of historic moments, that begin in pre-history and end in the present days. Visitors will be able to have a journey that allows them to engage with the cultures of the world.
We are looking forward to seeing Piet Mondrian’s 1922 painting Composition with Blue, Red, Yellow and Black. Representatives of the Louvre Abu Dhabi’s acquisitions team acquired it at a Christie’s sale of the art collection of the fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé. That acquisition set a record for the artist at the time when it sold for €21.5 million. The painting was an internationally recognised masterpiece, one of the most eloquent statements of 20th century, Modernist abstraction. As an initial purchase, it was surely a statement of intent.
In addition, in November 2016, the Louvre Abu Dhabi announced that, it would also commission new, site-specific works from internationally renowned living artists in order to connect the cultures and civilizations of the past with the conversations and practices that define contemporary art practice. The first commissions involve new works from American neo-conceptualist artist Jenny Holzer and Italian sculptor Giuseppe Penone.
Louvre Abu Dhabi will also expose some of the world's famous artworks on loan, from Van Gogh, Gaugin, Manet, Monet, Picasso and Leonardo da Vinci.
Let's start the countdown!