Louvre Abu Dhabi to receive loan of 300 works from French museums

When it opens to the public in 2015, the long-awaited Louvre Abu Dhabi will display works by Leonardo da Vinci, Vincent Van Gogh, Henri Matisse and many more thanks to a loan of 300 pieces from prominent French institutions.

The loan, which officials announced on Sunday, will come from 13 French cultural organizations including the Louvre Museum, the Centre Pompidou and the Musee d’Orsay. The loans will vary in length from three months to two years, according to reports from Le Figaro and the Art Newspaper.

Among the items to be loaned are Da Vinci’s “La Belle Ferroniere” (“Portrait of an Unknown Woman”) from the Louvre in Paris; Claude Monet’s “Gare Saint-Lazare” from the Musee d’Orsay; a self-portrait by Van Gogh, also from the Musee d’Orsay; and Matisse’s “Still Life With Magnolia” from the Centre Pompidou.

The Chateau de Versailles will be lending the famous “Napoleon Crossing the Alps” painting by Jacques-Louis David.

The works will be displayed alongside pieces from the Louvre Abu Dhabi’s growing permanent collection. The museum, which is expected to open in late 2015, is designed by architect Jean Nouvel and is on Saadiyat Island, which is on the coast of the United Arab Emirates.

The estimated cost of the Louvre Abu Dhabi is as much as $634 million. The institution isn’t a part of the famous Louvre Museum in Paris, but the organizations have a branding agreement.

When the new museum opens, the 300 lent items will account for nearly half of the works on display, according to Le Figaro.

Twitter: @DavidNgLAT