When you think about the Musée du Louvrethe tree-lined avenues of Paris immediately come to mind, the queue to see the Mona Lisa in person, the Seine just a few steps away. But there is another Louvre, almost on the other side of the world, a “branch” that is becoming more and more famous. Let’s talk about Louvre Abu Dhabithe capital of the United Arab Emirates. Thought of as “first universal museum in the Arab world“, this institution in the heart of the cultural district and on Saadiyat Island brings together artifacts and works of art from different cultures to “shed light on the common stories of humanity”, beyond individual civilizations, times or places . In a sort of way encyclopedic compendiumwe therefore go from prehistory to the present day, covering over ten thousand years of history. Visitable in 2-3 hours, among the many works that theoretically should be exhibited in the building there should be the Salvator Mundi Of Leonardo da Vinci. Yet it isn’t there: what happened to it?
How it was made and who built the Abu Dhabi museum
The origins of the Louvre Abu Dhabi, in Arabic اللوفر أبوظبي, date back to March 2007even if theinauguration real is of 2017. The United Arab Emirates and France have signed a cultural exchange partnership (expected until 2047) which has led to the establishment of the Louvre Abu Dhabi on the island of Saadiyat.
The infinity building on the water, with its 180 meter wide dome, was designed by the French architect Jean Nouvel. Thanks to passive cooling, inspired by local culture designs and traditional regional architecture, the museum is very energy efficientand also employs passive water and energy saving systems and high-efficiency heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems.
The whole museum structure well 55 buildingsof which 23 I am gallerieswhere you can explore the evolution of art from early civilizations to modern art. These galleries are not distinguished according to a geographical but chronological order, and host over 600 works (in addition to those lent by the French Louvre and other museums which arrive in rotation).
What to see at the Louvre in Abu Dhabi: the famous works
But how do you choose what to see among thousands of years of history? The museum provides a small guide based on the historical importance, rarity and prominence of the artists who created artefacts and works. Which can also be very different from each other: there is the Composition in blue, red, yellow and black Of Piet Mondrianone ancestral sculpture coming from Mali, several works by Hokusai (including one of the famous ones Kanagawa waves), a rare one globe of the seventeenth century by Vincenzo Coronelli, a page from the famous Blue Quran from the 10th century, a large Chinese stone dragon, and so on.
And the famous one Salvator Mundi by Leonardo Da Vinci? The museum had said it would exhibit the “most expensive painting ever”, purchased in 2018 for 450 million dollars and attributed to the Italian master, but there were problems. In fact, the work depicting Jesus Christ, created in France for Louis XII around 1500, cannot yet be seen, and the museum has postponed its exhibition to a later date without explanation.
According to some sources the painting is found in Saudi Arabia aboard the luxury yacht Serene, owned by the Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman. However, little is known about his status, and there are no recent declarations: a real mystery.
