I have just had the briefest, but most exhilarating introduction to the treasures of the Louvre Abu Dhabi, first of all to Jean Nouvel’s astonishing interiors – more interesting inside than outside because you get a sense of the depth of the shallow dome and the way in which light plays through it:-
And then the briefest of walking tour introductions to the thinking behind the displays: the dream of the Universal Survey Museum, extended to cover all cultures and all religions through time, starting with antiquity:-
All religions – Christian, Muslim, Judaism, Buddhism – and, in the nineteenth century, primitive masks alongside the Impressionists. I didn’t have time to digest it, but it is certainly done with the utmost intellectual confidence and displayed beautifully and authoritatively in display cases designed by Nouvel as well, which gives it a strong sense of systematic integration.
Then, I had to leave for Sydney (the museum is closed on Mondays).
When I visited (about a year ago, so it may have changed) I was intrigued that the Universal approach rather disappeared when the displays reached the 20th and 21st centuries, Rather than being cross cultural and cross disciplinary, they consisted almost entirely of international fine art. There were works by artists from round the globe, but there was nothing included that wouldn’t fit comfortably at a global art fair.
Dear Maurice, I was there for an absurdly short time and a question which remains a bit unanswered is how their treatment of the twentieth century will change once the Guggenheim is open next door. Charles