(From the Window of Louvre Abu Dhabi to the Gate of the Natural History Museum)
While walking inside the galleries of Louvre Abu Dhabi I often pause by Chapter 5, where a window opens towards the rising structure of the Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi. From this point the connection between art and nature becomes almost alive, as if both museums are speaking to each other across the growing landscape of Saadiyat Island (Cultural District).
This window carries a timeless reflection from the French art historian Andre Malraux:
“Art is the shortest path from man to man.”
This message takes on a deeper meaning. Here art is not only connecting people it is also reconnecting us with nature itself.
Chapter 5, dedicated to the Silk Roads and the Asian trade routes reflects the spirit of exchange and regional connectivity. Standing before this window one feels that same rhythm of connection between cultures, between time periods, and now between two great institutions that together represent the dialogue of humanity and nature.
From this window, the sea stretches endlessly, its blue surface linking both museums. The moving waves remind us of time not in centuries, but in billions of years. They carry silent memories from 13.8 billion years ago to our present day, connecting the story of life with the story of civilisations. The Louvre Abu Dhabi tells us who we are? the Natural History Museum will tell us where we come from. So in general it is story of who and where.
Walking further between Chapter 6 and 7 just before the Cosmography Gallery another window invites reflection. Etched upon it are the words of Isaac Newton:
“We build too many walls, and not enough bridges.”
Through this window, the Sheikh Khalifa Bridge and the Natural History Museum are clearly visible. This view beautifully echoes the vision of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the founding father of the UAE a vision built on connection, unity, and coexistence, linking city and island through bridge while culture and nature through museums and conecting people with people through tolerance and coexistence.
The dome of Louvre Abu Dhabi stands as a shelter to civilisations while the roofline of the Natural History Museum will rise as a shelter to life. One celebrates human creativity, the other embraces the story of our planet. The Louvre invites us to “See humanity in a new light” while the Natural History Museum promises to “Telling the story of the land.”
From the windows of the Louvre Abu Dhabi to the shadows of the Natural History Museum through the shining pearl waters of Saadiyat, art and nature continue their eternal dialogue. Together they remind us that every masterpiece and every fossil, every brushstroke and every wave, belong to one story, the story of life, connection and rebirth.