Louvre Abu Dhabi to display Da Vinci, Van Gogh masterpieces

Masterpieces by Leonardo da Vinci and Vincent van Gogh will be among 300 works displayed at the Louvre Abu Dhabi when it opens in 2015.

The pieces will be on loan from French museums and will be on display for up to two years, being replaced over time as the Louvre Abu Dhabi builds up its own collection.

Announcing the landmark exhibits,  Sultan bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority, which is behind the project, stated "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.”

Pieces that will on loan include da Vinci's ‘Portrait of an Unknown Woman’, Claude Monet's ‘Saint-Lazare Station’, Andy Warhol's ‘Big Electric Chair’ as well as some artworks from Antiquity, such as a 4,000-year-old statue of Mesopotamian ruler Gudea and a figurine of King Ramses II from Egypt's 19th dynasty.

Among the renowned French museums loaning the art are The Louvre, the Musée d'Orsay and the Château de Versailles, as part of a 30-year collaboration with the Abu Dhabi worth over $1 billion.

The museum, which is set to open in December 2015, cost over US$630 million to build and covers an area of 64,000 metres2. Designed by French architect Jean Nouvel and built on Saadiyat Island, it will have feature a 6,000 metres2 space dedicated to permanent installations and 2,000 metres2 set aside for temporary exhibitions.

The final piece of the museum’s ‘mega-structure’ domed roof was put in place at the end of September.

17th March 2014 - FIRST GALLERY COMPLETED AT LOUVRE ABU DHABI

11th June 2013 - MUSEUMS DRIVE ECONOMIC AND CULTURAL TRANSFORMATION

3rd April 2013 - ABU DHABI EYES AUSTRALIAN TOURISM BOOST

14th March 2013 - HONG KONG MUSEUM OF ART ANDY WARHOL EXHIBITION GREETS 200,000TH VISITOR

18th January 2013 - ABU DHABI LOUVRE TO OPEN IN 2015 

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