A trio of worshippers gather in one display – one from Gabon, another from present-day Iraq and the third from Egypt – followed by a series of paintings from Monet, Van Gogh and Renoir. These artefacts and artworks have been brought together by Louvre Abu Dhabi as the museum welcomes new additions to its acquisitions and loans for the season.
Here, we look at five new displays to see at Louvre Abu Dhabi as the new season at the museum begins.
Statues of worship
Housed in the Grand Vestibule are the first few objects visitors see. The Sumerian Statue of a Female Worshipper is a stone statue created in the third millennium BCE. Likely to have been displayed in a temple, the statue would have been placed next to a divinity figure.
As Souraya Noujaim, Louvre Abu Dhabi’s scientific, curatorial and collections management director, explains, the object belongs to a group of Sumerian statues produced in modern-day Southern Iraq and Syria.
“They are usually dressed in sheepskin and are figures of men praying, standing with the gesture of intercession between the divine and the Earth,” she says. “The fact that it is a female is extremely rare. She has a soft smile on her face and her hands clasp in front of her. Her eyes were probably engraved in black and white stones. She is a testimony of the place of women in worship at the time.”
Another artefact is the Kneeling Figure in black stone from Egypt, believed to be from 400 to 300 BC. His position indicates he may have been praying to Amun, the ancient Egyptian god of the sun and air.
Both figurines have recently been acquired from private dealers and are now part of Louvre Abu Dhabi’s permanent collection.
Osman Hamdi Bey’s Orientalist work
On loan from Musee d'Orsay in Paris is a 1903 work by painter and archaeologist Osman Hamdi Bey, which depicts a dervish inside an opulent mausoleum. Here, the artist casts light into the interiors of the room from an arched entryway. The Orientalist work, replete with the stereotypical dark atmosphere and settings, as well as the characters, is contrasted with an earlier work by the painter and archaeologist, Young Emir Studying, part of Louvre Abu Dhabi's permanent collection.
“In both paintings you have the references to the traditional Islamic art, but one is very Orientalist and the other is more subtle, calm, inspired by the art of miniature and also photography,” Noujaim explains.
The first of Monet’s Haystacks series
It would be easy to say that the subject of Monet's remarkable Haystacks are just heaps of grain. In a series of 25 paintings, he repeatedly renders haystacks in the French countryside as they appeared throughout the year. But what the artist truly wanted to capture was light – how it changed throughout the day and the seasons.
One of the first of Monet's notable Haystacks is on view as part of the museum's modernist section. The display at Louvre Abu Dhabi gathers the works of Van Gogh, Renoir and Degas, intended by Noujaim to demonstrate a wider view of trends within Western art and societies.
“With the Industrial Revolution, the status of the image and topics chosen by the artists were changing considerably,” she says.
In the case of Monet, for example, “he moved out of his studio and painted in real landscapes”.
Placing loans and items from the museum’s permanent collection side to by side, Noujaim plots the progression of these changes chronologically.
Also on loan from Musee d'Orsay is Monet's Haystacks, End of Summer, from 1891. It prefigures the French artist's famous series of Rouen Cathedral and Charing Cross Bridge in London, and further cements his Impressionist style.
“He used light and repetition to take his technique to a more abstract approach,” says Noujaim.
Van Gogh’s developing style
The Modernist section also includes Van Gogh's Encampment of Gypsies with Caravans (1888), which exemplifies this "entry into the modern world", as Noujaim puts it, with its renewed focus on real-life subjects common in Post-Impressionism.
“These artists were drawing attention to subjects that were not previously considered important. Their techniques have evolved from a conventional representation to a more free touch towards abstraction,” she explains.
In this work, one can see the beginnings of what would become Van Gogh’s memorable style – his use of strong brushstrokes, his vibrant palette and focus on light.
For each of these displays, Noujaim has considered the connections and contexts in the artworks in order to tell their stories along Louvre Abu Dhabi’s ethos. By bringing together two disparate works, such as the Sumerian statue and Kneeling Figure, for example, the curator bonds the objects through their ideas rather than their timelines or geographies. “Our narrative is a universal narrative. We try to find the visual, artistic and historical connections between artworks,” she says.
More information is available at louvreabudhabi.ae
More coverage from the Future Forum
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
SPECS
Engine: 4-litre V8 twin-turbo
Power: 630hp
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: 8-speed Tiptronic automatic
Price: From Dh599,000
On sale: Now
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
MATCH INFO
Quarter-finals
Saturday (all times UAE)
England v Australia, 11.15am
New Zealand v Ireland, 2.15pm
Sunday
Wales v France, 11.15am
Japan v South Africa, 2.15pm
Predictions
Predicted winners for final round of games before play-offs:
- Friday: Delhi v Chennai - Chennai
- Saturday: Rajasthan v Bangalore - Bangalore
- Saturday: Hyderabad v Kolkata - Hyderabad
- Sunday: Delhi v Mumbai - Mumbai
- Sunday - Chennai v Punjab - Chennai
Final top-four (who will make play-offs): Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Bangalore
Zayed Sustainability Prize
AI traffic lights to ease congestion at seven points to Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Street
The seven points are:
Shakhbout bin Sultan Street
Dhafeer Street
Hadbat Al Ghubainah Street (outbound)
Salama bint Butti Street
Al Dhafra Street
Rabdan Street
Umm Yifina Street exit (inbound)
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Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
Richard Jewell
Director: Clint Eastwood
Stars: Paul Walter Hauser, Sam Rockwell, Brandon Stanley
Two-and-a-half out of five stars
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Infiniti QX80 specs
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Torque: 700Nm
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Estijaba – 8001717 – number to call to request coronavirus testing
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Specs
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UAE SQUAD
Khalid Essa (Al Ain), Ali Khaseif (Al Jazira), Adel Al Hosani (Sharjah), Mahmoud Khamis (Al Nasr), Yousef Jaber (Shabab Al Ahli Dubai), Khalifa Al Hammadi (Jazira), Salem Rashid (Jazira), Shaheen Abdelrahman (Sharjah), Faris Juma (Al Wahda), Mohammed Shaker (Al Ain), Mohammed Barghash (Wahda), Abdulaziz Haikal (Shabab Al Ahli), Ahmed Barman (Al Ain), Khamis Esmail (Wahda), Khaled Bawazir (Sharjah), Majed Surour (Sharjah), Abdullah Ramadan (Jazira), Mohammed Al Attas (Jazira), Fabio De Lima (Al Wasl), Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Khalfan Mubarak (Jazira), Habib Fardan (Nasr), Khalil Ibrahim (Wahda), Ali Mabkhout (Jazira), Ali Saleh (Wasl), Caio (Al Ain), Sebastian Tagliabue (Nasr).
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Rating: 4/5
Gertrude Bell's life in focus
A feature film
At one point, two feature films were in the works, but only German director Werner Herzog’s project starring Nicole Kidman would be made. While there were high hopes he would do a worthy job of directing the biopic, when Queen of the Desert arrived in 2015 it was a disappointment. Critics panned the film, in which Herzog largely glossed over Bell’s political work in favour of her ill-fated romances.
A documentary
A project that did do justice to Bell arrived the next year: Sabine Krayenbuhl and Zeva Oelbaum’s Letters from Baghdad: The Extraordinary Life and Times of Gertrude Bell. Drawing on more than 1,000 pieces of archival footage, 1,700 documents and 1,600 letters, the filmmakers painstakingly pieced together a compelling narrative that managed to convey both the depth of Bell’s experience and her tortured love life.
Books, letters and archives
Two biographies have been written about Bell, and both are worth reading: Georgina Howell’s 2006 book Queen of the Desert and Janet Wallach’s 1996 effort Desert Queen. Bell published several books documenting her travels and there are also several volumes of her letters, although they are hard to find in print. Original documents are housed at the Gertrude Bell Archive at the University of Newcastle, which has an online catalogue.
It Was Just an Accident
Director: Jafar Panahi
Stars: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr
Rating: 4/5
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
How The Debt Panel's advice helped readers in 2019
December 11: 'My husband died, so what happens to the Dh240,000 he owes in the UAE?'
JL, a housewife from India, wrote to us about her husband, who died earlier this month. He left behind an outstanding loan of Dh240,000 and she was hoping to pay it off with an insurance policy he had taken out. She also wanted to recover some of her husband’s end-of-service liabilities to help support her and her son.
“I have no words to thank you for helping me out,” she wrote to The Debt Panel after receiving the panellists' comments. “The advice has given me an idea of the present status of the loan and how to take it up further. I will draft a letter and send it to the email ID on the bank’s website along with the death certificate. I hope and pray to find a way out of this.”
November 26: ‘I owe Dh100,000 because my employer has not paid me for a year’
SL, a financial services employee from India, left the UAE in June after quitting his job because his employer had not paid him since November 2018. He owes Dh103,800 on four debts and was told by the panellists he may be able to use the insolvency law to solve his issue.
SL thanked the panellists for their efforts. "Indeed, I have some clarity on the consequence of the case and the next steps to take regarding my situation," he says. "Hopefully, I will be able to provide a positive testimony soon."
October 15: 'I lost my job and left the UAE owing Dh71,000. Can I return?'
MS, an energy sector employee from South Africa, left the UAE in August after losing his Dh12,000 job. He was struggling to meet the repayments while securing a new position in the UAE and feared he would be detained if he returned. He has now secured a new job and will return to the Emirates this month.
“The insolvency law is indeed a relief to hear,” he says. "I will not apply for insolvency at this stage. I have been able to pay something towards my loan and credit card. As it stands, I only have a one-month deficit, which I will be able to recover by the end of December."
SAUDI RESULTS
Team Team Pederson (-40), Team Kyriacou (-39), Team De Roey (-39), Team Mehmet (-37), Team Pace (-36), Team Dimmock (-33)
Individual E. Pederson (-14), S. Kyriacou (-12), A van Dam (-12), L. Galmes (-12), C. Hull (-9), E. Givens (-8),
G. Hall (-8), Ursula Wikstrom (-7), Johanna Gustavsson (-7)
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