(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) The loaned works will include Leonardo da Vincis Portrait of an Unknown Woman Edouard Manets The Fife Player and Claude Monets The Saint-Lazare Station.
Louvre Abu Dhabi has announced that it will receive approximately 300 artworks on loan from major French institutions for its opening year which will complement the museum’s already growing collection.
The loaned works will include Leonardo da Vinci’s Portrait of an Unknown Woman (circa 1495) also known as La Belle Ferronniere which will be loaned by Musee du Louvre; Edouard Manet’s The Fife Player (1866); and Claude Monet’s The Saint-Lazare Station (1877) which will come from the Musee d’Orsay et de l’Orangerie as well as a number of other pieces from French institutions.
Shaikh Sultan bin Tahnoun Al Nahyan Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority said “These outstanding loans from our French partners represent a collaboration that is symbolic of Louvre Abu Dhabi and its progress to date. This will be the first time many of these works will travel to Abu Dhabi or even the Middle East and are a rare opportunity to see important art from French museums in tandem with the Louvre Abu Dhabi’s collection.
Ultimately we hope to offer visitors a unique experience from a new perspective that underlines the universal spirit of the entire project.”
Fleur Pellerin French Minister of Culture and Communication said “The announcement of the loans from French museums is within the framework of the intergovernmental agreement signed between the UAE and France in 2007 as the opening of the Louvre Abu Dhabi represents a major step in this great project. It is an acknowledgement of both the extraordinary richness of our national collections and the expertise of our museums. These masterpieces loaned by the 13 partner French museums and public institutions will implement a new dialogue between different world cultures and civilisations in a spirit of universalism that France is proud to promote throughout the world.”
The selection was overseen by the TCA Abu Dhabi Agence France-Museums and the lending museums in line with Louvre Abu Dhabi’s scientific and cultural programme.
The number of works loaned by French institutions will decrease over a 10-year period as Louvre Abu Dhabi continues to build up its collection.
The works will be on show for between three months and two years depending largely on the conservation and preservation requirements of each piece.
Louvre Abu Dhabi will follow the highest international standards and requirements for transport presentation and conservation of works of art.
Born of an intergovernmental agreement between Abu Dhabi and France in 2007 Louvre Abu Dhabi will display artworks and objects of historical cultural and sociological significance — from prehistory to the contemporary. —