LOUVRE ABU DHABI

AN IMPRESSIVE SHOWCASE

Louvre Abu Dhabi celebrates its fifth anniversary with a new exhibition…

It’s been five years since Louvre Abu Dhabi opened its doors on Saadiyat Island back in November 2017. In celebration of its five-year anniversary, the incredible art museum has launched a not-to-be-missed exhibition and it’s one that art lovers won’t want to miss, titled Impressionism: Pathways to Modernity.

Deemed as one of the most comprehensive Impressionist exhibitions launched in the region, the exhibition is in partnership with Musée d’Orsay and France Muséums, and in collaboration with several leading French institutions.

Impressionism was a radical art movement in the 19th century. It centred primarily around Parisian painters who used thin yet visible brush strokes and bright colours in their works. It took place during a rapidly reshaped world, caused by the Industrial Revolution, which impressionist artists often translated onto the canvas.

A legendary performance

American singer, songwriter, pianist and record producer, John Legend, will perform at the Louvre Abu Dhabi as part of the fiveyear anniversary celebrations. The performance takes place on Saturday November 12 at 7pm with ticket prices starting from Dhs295.

Visitors to the Louvre Abu Dhabi’s new exhibition will be able to see the masterpieces of some of the most famous impressionist artists, including OscarClaude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Paul Cézanne, Berthe Marie Pauline Morisot, Camille Pissarro and Alfred Sisley.

The exhibition alone features more than 100 paintings, 40 drawings and prints, 20 photographs and even a contemporary video installation structured into 15 sections. Impressionist artists are at the core of this exhibition but there is a neat dialogue displayed between painters of the previous generation, known as the realists. Paintings at the exhibition include art by Édouard Manet – a French painter who heavily influenced the impressionism era – and Gustave Courbet, Henri Julien Félix Roussea and Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot.

The exhibition will also be home to a new and significant acquisition – The Cup of Chocolate by Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1877–1878). It hangs opposite Woman with a Coffee Pot by Paul Cézanne (1890-1895) to showcase the difference in painting styles.

Want to learn more? Louvre Abu Dhabi is developing a rich cultural and educational programme to accompany Impressionism: Pathways to Modernity. Check Louvre Abu Dhabi’s website for more updates.

Impressionism: Pathways to Modernity runs until February 5, 2023.

Louvre Abu Dhabi, Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi, exhibition free to enter with museum general admission ticket for Dhs63, under 18s and senior citizens (60+) enter for free, Tue to Sun 10am to 6.30pm, closed Mon. Tel: (600) 565 566. louvreabudhabi.ae

A LEONARDO DA VINCI IS GRACING THE CAPITAL

As part of the anniversary celebrations, Louvre Abu Dhabi is hosting Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece Saint John the Baptist. The art is a loan from the Musée du Louvre (The Louvre Museum in Paris) which will call the UAE capital home for the next two years. Renaissance art fans can check it out at the museum’s permanent gallery from November 8. Saint John the Baptist is just part of a series of four major loans made by the Musée du Louvre. Louvre Abu Dhabi will announce the next three masterpieces via their official channels.

5 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT LOUVRE ABU DHABI

The design Architect Jean Nouvel is the genius behind the striking dome structure. It appears to float, as its four pillars are hidden within the museum. The dome alone weighs 7,500 tonnes, making it heavier than the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

Plenty to see Described as a museum city floating in the sea, Louvre Abu Dhabi is home to 55 buildings, 23 galleries, a temporary exhibition space, a 1,200-seater auditorium, and a twostorey children’s museum.

An innovative project Born out of an intergovernmental agreement signed between France and the United Arab Emirates, the Louvre Abu Dhabi is the first universal museum in the Arab world. The Abu Dhabi government paid a whopping $525 million to use the prestigious name for 30 years.

Highlights of the collection Louvre Abu Dhabi’s permanent collection features a selection of 120 masterpieces allowing visitors to dive into thousands of years of human creativity across cultures and continents.

Hidden secrets An underground tunnel, six metres deep, will link three museums in Saadiyat Island Cultural District: Louvre Abu Dhabi, Guggenheim Abu Dhabi and the Zayed National Museum. Once complete, it will stretch 1.2 kilometres.

ART OF THE MATTER

The capital comes alive with culture as Abu Dhabi Art returns

The annual art fair in Abu Dhabi is more than a traditional trade fair, it presents many events and initiatives to engage the general public. This year, during its 14th iteration, Abu Dhabi Art is displaying work from over 80 leading and emerging galleries as well as featuring a curatorially driven programme, including art installations, talks and performances taking place in different locations, making this its most comprehensive and diverse to date. Here are our highlights…

Exhibiting Galleries

Each year, participating exhibitors are selected by an internal committee at the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi. The international modern and contemporary galleries present a wide range of artworks for sale by different artists. Art enthusiasts, collectors and visitors have the opportunity to experience exhibitors representing galleries from across the globe, including Leehwaik Gallery from the Republic of South Korea, London’s October Gallery, Rossi & Rossi in Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia’s ATHR Gallery.

MUSIC AND TALKS During the festival, Abu Dhabi Art also hosts a series of cultural talks and book launches with leading figures in the world, plus site-specific performances commissioned in different locations throughout the city. Highlights include Shabaka, an interactive music experience commissioned by Berkley Abu Dhabi and Noon, an experimental music project comprising traditional Middle Eastern music with jazz.

EMERGING ARTISTS

This annual Beyond: Emerging Artists initiative gives three emerging UAE artists a platform to realise ambitious art projects, where their works will be shown at Manarat Al Saadiyat as part of Abu Dhabi Art. Over the past year, multidisciplinary artist and co-founder and director of Lebanon-based publisher Dongola Limited Editions Abed Al Kadiri has mentored three UAE-based emerging artists, Majd Alloush, Sarah Al Mehairi and Mohamed Khalid, as they create new commissioned works exploring the theme of borders, home and man-made territories. The Beyond programme runs alongside Al Kadiri’s acclaimed pandemic undertaking Cities Under Quarantine: The Mailbox Project, which will be travelling to Al Ain and be on view at Qasr Al Muwaiji until January 22, 2023.

Artist commissions in historic sites

Abu Dhabi Art invites established artists to create site-specific works in historic sites in Al Ain and the wider Abu Dhabi emirate to draw new audiences. The works created by the commissioned artists are revealed during Abu Dhabi Art fair and remain on show to the public for several months. This year sees special projects from Italian multi-disciplinary artist Marinella Senatore at Manarat Al Saadiyat and Al Hosn, alongside commissioned works by Abdullah Al Saadi plus special pieces from Shilpa Gupta in Al Jahili Fort, and mechanical sculpturist Conrad Shawcross in Al Ain Oasis.

Abed Al Kadiri