Architecture: New Louvre in Abu Dhabi

For a thirty -year rental of paintings by European painters, the museum paid Paris more than $ 700 million.

On November 11, the Louvre Abu Dhabi opened -the Art Museum on the island of Saadiyat, officially bearing the name of one of the most famous museums in the world. For the right to use this name, Emirat Abu Dhabi, France paid 525 million dollars for 30 years, in the amount of about 750 million there was a rental of 300 works of art, including paintings by da Vinci, Van Gogh and Picasso.

The dome of the building was created from eight thousand metal stars that overlap each other and scatter sunlight. The form of the dome was not chosen by chance - according to Nouvel's plan, it should remind of the architectural traditions of the region. White cubes from which the walls are composed symbolize the buildings of the Arab settlements and are a metaphor for Medina.

The building is conceived as part of the cultural center, in which a branch of the Museum of Solomon Guggenheim and the National Historical Museum of Sheikh Zaid will also appear later. The architect of the museum was Jean Nouvel, and about 10 years took the design and construction in total. In addition to 26 separate galleries , the Abu Dhabi Louvre includes a conference room with 270 seats, a restaurant, a store and a cafe.

On December 21, the first exhibition "From one Louvre to another: the opening of the museum for everyone" will open.

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