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| © 2007 Musée du Louvre / Phodia |
The Louvre owns one of the world's richest and most beautiful collections of Islamic art, comprising some 10,000 items. A new Islamic art gallery is scheduled to open in 2010 in the Cour Visconti, at the heart of the Louvre's south wing.
The Islamic art collection will thus be ideally situated within the museum, near the civilizations of late antiquity. |
Some two thousand objects will be on display, reflecting the breadth of inspiration and creativity of the Islamic lands over thirteen centuries and three continents.
The gallery will house an important archaeological collection and feature highlights from medieval Iran, Arabia, and the Ottoman Empire.
It will also be home to the unique Islamic collection from the Museum of Decorative Arts, which spans the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries and features one of the world's most prestigious collections of carpets.
The two museums' combined artworks will form a particularly splendid collection of Ottoman and Iranian ceramics and of carpets and fabrics, allowing the new gallery to provide a dazzling showcase for a remarkable collection that spans the whole cultural spectrum of Islamic civilization. |
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ARCHITECTS: Mario BELLINI, Rudy RICCIOTTI
MUSEUM DESIGNER: Renaud PIERARD
RESEARCH CONSULTANTS: BERIM |
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According to architects Mario BELLINI and Rudy RICCIOTTI, "the Cour Visconti will not be covered and will remain visible." Their aim is to achieve the "friendly, non-violent integration" of a resolutely contemporary architectural project into the heart of a historic site.
The exhibition space will cover some 3,500 m² on two floors: the first, at courtyard level, will display items dating from the 7th to the 11th century; the second, at underground level, will extend beneath the neighboring galleries and contain works from the 11th to the 19th century (notably the prestigious carpet collection).
The gallery will be covered by a luminous veil that will float delicately above the exhibition space, subtly diffusing light. The facades of the Visconti courtyard will be visible from all over the ground floor of the new gallery. From the neighboring rooms, visitors will be able to admire the play of folds on the roof, which will give the overall structure its poetic dimension. |
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