Here’s the new Louvre, and the old one

The Louvre has just released a new timetable, and it begins and ends with the Pavillon de l’Horloge, where the 800year history of the iconic Paris museum is being told regarding its architecture, collections and the current multitude of offerings.

The site selected by the world’s mostvisited Western museum for the task is laden with history, and there visitors can experience both the new and the oldest Louvre the medieval one the “Cour Carre” and the Napoleon Patio, where the transparent pyramid of architect Ieoh Ming Pei has been on display since 1989.

The construction of the pavilion at the Louvre Palace began during the reign of Louis XIII (16011643) and his consort Anne of Austria, and concluded during that of his son Louis XIV (16381715), the “Sun King” and husband of another Spanish princess, Maria Teresa of Austria.

But this is just one of the offerings that may be discovered in the halls on three floors of the “Interpretive Center” dedicated to the history of the Louvre, which officially since July 5 has been named the “Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Center,” by virtue of the bilateral agreements to build the Abu Dhabi Louvre.

The upcoming desert Louvre, which is being presented as the “first universal museum in the Middle East” and which architect Jean Nouvel is scheduled to inaugurate in early 2017, is the subject of another of the exhibits in one of the four new halls in the Pavillon de l’Horloge.

The exhibit is located on the third level of the Zayed Center, and includes an exploration of the Louvre’s past and future, from its satellite museum in the northeastern French city of Lens to its latest acquisitions and restoration work, along with ongoing extracurricular projects in schools, prisons, hospitals and homes for the elderly.