'See humanity in a new light'. So say the posters for the Louvre Abu Dhabi that now line the road to Saadiyat Island’s new museum peninsula.
It’s a smart tagline for an institution that has dedicated itself to rewriting the history of humanity. And for a building, Jean Nouvel’s much-vaunted Rain of Light, that relies for its signature effect on the sun, which shines through the building’s complex canopy, dappling its precincts and walls.
But it's only a visit to the museum that also reveals how literal the phrase is. At their best, the Louvre Abu Dhabi’s galleries are bathed in sunlight, reflected or muted in some places, bright and direct in others, but when this literal and metaphorical reflection and illumination combine, the effect is exhilarating.
After navigating the museum’s austere security entrance and ticketing hall and bypassing its boutique - the shop boasts the largest collection of art books in the capital - the Louvre Abu Dhabi’s alternative approach to art history begins in its main hall with a 13-metre-wide abstract painting by Cy Twombly that sits beneath a raking skylight.
