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Expansion at the Louvre and Beyond - Resnicow Schroeder Flipbook PDF
Expansion at the Louvre and Beyond, 4 experimenting with curatorial techniques which are impossible to realize in Paris.
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EXPANSIONS AT THE LOUVRE AND BEYOND Long a leader in museum development, the Louvre has a range of major capital projects scheduled for the coming years. In Paris, these include the construction of new galleries for Islamic Arts, the renovation of the eighteenth-century decorative arts galleries, and the remodeling of the Louvre’s famous pyramid entrance. Internationally, the Louvre is involved in several partnerships that underscore its service as a universal museum, dedicated to presenting its collections to broad audiences across the globe—including those who do not have easy access to Paris. Principally, the Louvre Lens and the Louvre Abu Dhabi will bring the collections and expertise of the Louvre to new areas. In addition to major exhibitions in the United States, Australia, China, Korea, and Japan, other initiatives are underway in Syria, Egypt, Sudan, and Ecuador. These projects include professional exchange programs, advice on local museum renovations, and joint archaeological excavations and scientific research.
1. Department of Islamic Art The Louvre created its Department of Islamic Art in 2003, reassembling objects that were previously dispersed in various other departments. At the time, President Jacques Chirac explained that this project would further the Louvre’s mission as a universal cultural institution and “underline, for France and the rest of the world, the essential contributions made by Islamic civilizations to our culture.” The Louvre continues to fulfill this mission with the construction of new galleries for Islamic art, currently underway. With 10,000 objects, the Louvre’s collection of Islamic art is one of the most extensive in the world, covering all regions of the Islamic world—from Spain to India—and spanning the seventh to the nineteenth century. Due to existing space restrictions, however, only 20% of these works can be displayed at one time. The construction of new galleries will quadruple existing exhibition space, allowing visitors to better understand the breadth of Islamic artistic practice. Design of the New Galleries After holding an international competition for the design of the new galleries in July of 2004, seven teams were picked as finalists. The project was awarded to the Milanese architect Mario Bellini, renowned for his additions to historical museums, and to Rudy Riccotti, winner of France’s National Architecture Award in 2006. Two stories of new galleries will be built into the Visconti court, in the southern wing of the Palace. The first level will hold works from the seventh to ninth centuries, and the second will contain works from the eleventh to nineteenth centuries along with a section of tapestries. The spaces will be covered by a luminous veil made of glass discs, floating delicately over the galleries. Original Louvre facades will remain exposed within the space, creating a wonderful juxtaposition between modern and classical, Eastern and Western The inauguration of the new galleries is scheduled for 2010. Financing of the Project The total cost of the project is €62.2 million, to which the French government is contributing €26 million. A generous donation of €17 million has been given from the Saudi Arabian Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal
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Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, one of the largest private donations in the history of France. The Amir of Kuwait has made a donation of €5 million toward the educational projects of the department. Recently, the Sultan of Oman made a €5 million donation towards the planning and out-fitting of the space. Private donations from French benefactors, both individuals and corporations, total €4 million.
2. Renovation of the 18th Century Furniture Galleries The Louvre is home to one of the most extraordinary collections of European furniture and decorative art objects in the world, consisting mainly of French pieces and representing a long range of history, from the late Classical period to the middle of the 19th century. At the creation of the museum in 1793, the collection was formed from objects stored in the royal and imperial furniture repositories, along with others seized during the Revolution. The collection has been continually enriched throughout the museum’s subsequent history. A Collection that Requires a New Place of Prominence The Louvre’s collection of 18th century furniture is particularly strong. Demonstrating the best of French style and the superior craftsmanship and artistry of French artisans, the collection consisting mainly of Parisian furniture—some of which was originally commissioned for royal or princely residences—as well as tapestries and pieces in precious woods, silver, gold, and porcelain. The collection has outgrown its current exhibition space, which was designed in the 1960s and occupies 21,500 square feet in the Sully wing. Renovations to the 18th century furniture galleries will enhance the presentation of these exemplary works and imbue them with new visibility and clarity within the architectural setting of the Louvre Palace. Newly Designed Galleries Goals for the new galleries are to create the highest quality display for visitors while respecting the need for the maximum security of the objects. Laurence Carminati, Aurelo Galfetti, and Yann Keromnes are the architects for the project. Their design allows the objects to be organized into four periods: the end of Louis XIV’s reign and the Regency, from 1770 to 1725; the rise and flowering of the Rococo style, 1725 - 1750; the neoclassical reaction, 1750 - 1775; and the triumph of Neoclassicism from 1775 to 1790. Each of these four periods will be explored through a number of themes, including styles, artists, sponsors, functions, techniques, and modes of production. Furniture will be exhibited in one of two ways: in comprehensive “Period Rooms,” and in “Interior Recollections,” which provide a themed overview of works in the same style and period to allow visitors to discover the functions and use of the objects. Works from the departments of painting, sculpture, and graphic arts will be incorporated into the presentations. Further, four historic rooms in the west wing of the Cour Carrée will showcase the Crown Jewels in an entirely new installation, recreating the interior design and furnishings of the grand private rooms of the Tuileries Palace during the First Empire and Restoration periods. Currently the rooms displaying European furniture and art are closed for renovation, but some significant pieces, including the gifts from Grog-Carven and Chagoury, are open to the public. The re-opening of the galleries will take place in 2011. Project Financing The cost of the project is estimated at €16 million. The project is benefiting from two important sources of support in the United States. The first source is the High Museum of Art in Atlanta and its committee of donors in part, and in particular the support of Anne Cox Chambers, Accenture, UPS Turner Broadcasting Systems Inc., Delta Airlines, Coca Cola Inc. and Axa Art Insurance, along with the Sarah
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Giles Moore Foundation, Forward Arts Foundation, Francis B. Bunzl Foundation and the Tull Charitable Foundation. In addition, American Friends of the Louvre is leading a campaign to secure $4 million in funds, for the restoration of the rooms from the Hotel Villemaire. The renovation program is also benefiting from the generosity of collectors and donors to the Louvre through the work of the Circle Crescent, chaired by Madame Maryvonne Pinault.
3. The Pyramid Project Inaugurated in 1989, the Pyramid was designed by the Chinese-American architect I.M. Pei to receive 4 million visitors annually. Eighteen years later, the Louvre is the most visited art museum in the world, welcoming more than 8.3 million visitors in 2006. Studies predict that attendance will continue to increase by an additional 20% by the year 2010, largely due to more visitors from China, India, and the rest of Asia. If the Louvre’s Pyramid is to remain as a welcome hall and live on as a symbol of the Louvre, it must be adapted to accommodate the increasing number of visitors. When he visited the Louvre in 2006, I.M. Pei came to the following conclusion: “The Louvre is the most handsome museum in world. It is necessary to resolve its complex functional problems, while preserving the quality of the space and the appearance of the Napoleon Hall. If one analyzes the different elements that compose the space in the Napoleon Hall together, the lack of equilibrium between certain parts, some almost empty corners, the redundant comings and goings of the public between the ticket desk, the coat room and the information bank, these are no longer adapted to the actual needs of the museum. It is clear that one must and should find a solution.” Pei has agreed to take on the task of redesigning the space beneath the Pyramid. Project Objectives, Calendar, and Budget The project aims to increase hospitality, information exchange, and personalization. The design will expand and reorganize ticketing areas, and remedy overcrowding so that visitors can have better access to the information bank. Recent surveys have reported a rate of 95% visitor satisfaction. The re-design of the Pyramid is intended to maintain this high level of satisfaction as attendance grows—making the Louvre not only the world’s most visited museum, but the world’s best museum to visit. The goal is to complete the Pyramid project by 2014. The budget is estimated at 70 million euros.
4. Louvre-Lens Renewing its commitment to serve all of France, in 2004 the Louvre announced plans to create a new museum in Lens, a Northern French town at the heart of a mining region. The project, to be completed in 2010, will meet several goals: • To reinforce the fundamental mission of the Louvre, renew the presentation of the collection through new themes, establish new cultural projects, and experiment with new curatorial approaches; • To create a true educational and cultural center that will lead to a larger network of information and cultural exchanges; • To help the economic redevelopment of the Northern Pas-de-Calais region. The Louvre will be present in Lens in all aspects of its mission—artistic, social, educational—and will offer a full spectrum of activities. Works will be loaned on temporary basis and also in long-term exhibitions. Louvre-Lens gives the Louvre the ability to rethink its role as a museum in the 21st century,
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experimenting with curatorial techniques which are impossible to realize in Paris. Objects from different curatorial departments will be brought together in a contemporary architectural space. Eliminating traditional departmental boundaries will allow visitors to understand these works within a new context. A Contemporary Design for the New Museum More than 20 international candidates participated in the architectural competition. The project was awarded in September of 2005 to the Japanese architects Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa, who are associated with the American museum architectural firm Imrey-Culbert. In the United States, Sejima is known for designs of sober elegance, including the Toledo Museum of Art and a new building for the New Museum of Contemporary Art, scheduled to open in New York City in December. Sejima and Nishizawa have proposed a structure of glass and light for Louvre-Lens. Project Financing The financing plan demonstrates the innovative character of this project. Eighty percent of the building cost will be met by the local community, with the remaining 20% financed by the European Union, for a total budget of approximately €120 million. In addition to devoting a team to oversee the project and lending its name, its expertise and its works, the Louvre is also involved in assisting the community with fund raising strategies.
5. Louvre Abu Dhabi On March 6, 2007, France and the United Arab Emirates formed an inter-governmental agreement to create the Louvre Abu Dhabi. France will aid in the conception of the new museum, which will eventually become independent. This mutual co-operation will promote dialogue between the cultures and civilizations of the Middle East and the West. “In choosing the Louvre,” declared Jacques Chirac, president of France at the time, “Abu Dhabi made the choice of a museum whose vocation from the beginning was to attain a universal perspective through the contemplation of art.” Project History The project was born two years ago, when officials from the United Arab Emirates approached the Louvre for assistance in the conception of a new museum for their capital, Abu Dhabi. They wished to find a well-recognized institution with technical expertise that would lend works of art while the museum develops collections of its own. As the new museum seeks to cover periods and cultures not included in the Louvre’s collection, such as Asian art, other French institutions will now join the Louvre’s leadership in meeting this request. In particular, the Châteaux de Versailles, the Musée d’Orsay, the Centre Georges Pompidou, the Musée quai Branly, and the Musée Guimet are part of the inter-governmental agreement signed in March 2007. The Future Museum The Louvre Abu Dhabi will be a universal museum whose collection will eventually include major works of art in the fields of archaeology, fine art, and decorative art, covering all periods and geographic areas. The United Arab Emirates seeks to encourage international dialogue, and to give residents of Abu Dhabi the opportunity to discover Western art while at the same time learning about the larger world. The project will unfold in phases, beginning with the opening of the new building in 2013. Designed by French architect Jean Nouvel, the space will offer approximately 21,000 square feet for temporary exhibitions and 64,000 square feet for permanent collections. The second phase will last ten years from opening day. During this time, France will loan works from its national collections on a rotating basis, to be displayed in lieu of a permanent collection. Three-hundred works will be loaned during the first three years, followed by 250 works for the next four years, and
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ending with 200 works for the final four years. Each object will be loaned for a period between six months and two years. At the same time, the United Arab Emirates will acquire works for its own national collection. At the end of ten years, only works from the U.A.E. collections will be exhibited in the museum’s permanent galleries. In addition, France will organize four temporary exhibitions a year—one major, one medium-sized, and two smaller-scale exhibitions—for fifteen years, gradually reducing its involvement until the Louvre Abu Dhabi is fully independent. The museum in Abu Dhabi will carry the name of the Louvre for thirty years, highlighting the primary role of the Louvre in its establishment, and aligning the Louvre’s international reputation with its own ambitions to become a universal museum. In turn, Louvre Abu Dhabi contributes to the international expansion of the Louvre and its name. Louvre Projects Benefiting from the Partnership The Louvre Abu Dhabi is a cultural partnership that will also produce financial resources of €1 billion over the course of 30 years. These resources will benefit all of the museums participating in the project, allowing them to finance new initiatives and enrich their own collections. The French museums contributing to the project united in July 2007 to create Agence France-Muséums. As principal lender, the Louvre will receive a total of €400 million. This amount also recognizes the cooperation of France and the Louvre in allowing the use of the name “Louvre Abu Dhabi” for thirty years. These exceptional resources will permit the Louvre to fund several new initiatives. Principal projects are: • The remodelling of the Flore Pavilion, the last space at the Louvre not yet open to the public. • The creation of an international center for research and restoration. The center will house all of the Louvre’s objects currently in storage at various locations on the outskirts of Paris. This new facility will also save priceless works of art from the Louvre, the Musée d’Orsay, and the Decorative Art Museum from the threat of flooding from the Seine. The general public will have access to certain areas of the facility, such as reserve collections, and the chance to watch stages of the conservation process.
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