‘The Thinker’ by Rodin comes to Louvre Abu Dhabi
▶ Rupert Hawksley revels in the beautiful objects at the Abu Dhabi museum’s new exhibition
Auguste Rodin’s The Thinker is now at Louvre Abu Dhabi.
Head bent, chin resting on one hand and with furrowed brow, The Thinker is one of the most famous sculptures of all time.
The bronze, on loan for a year from the Rodin Museum in Paris, is one of the original castings made by Rodin, some time between 1881 and 1882.
“The sculpture itself is majestic and it’s extremely powerful,” said Souraya Noujaim, in charge of collections at the museum. The Thinker is one of several works by Rodin held at Louvre Abu Dhabi, some on loan and others as part of the museum’s permanent collection. It was first exhibited as an individual piece in 1888.
In Joris-Karl Huysmans’s 19th century novel, A Rebours, an eccentric aristocrat called Jean des Esseintes retreats from Paris to the countryside and fills his house with beautiful things: fine art, exotic flowers and expensive jewellery. At one point, des Esseintes decides to have the shell of his pet tortoise set with dozens and dozens of gemstones. The weight of these gemstones is too much for the tortoise to bear and it eventually dies, literally crushed by decadence.
As you walk around 10,000 Years of Luxury, a vast new exhibition at Louvre Abu Dhabi, it is hard, at times, not to feel like des Esseintes’s poor pet. The sheer volume of stuff – jewellery, clothing, tapestry, musical instruments, furniture and cutlery – can be overwhelming. This is unsurprising, perhaps, given the ambitious title of the show. One needs an awful lot of dots to trace a coherent line from, say, a 7th century BC Persian drinking vessel to the latest haute couture.
Even so, did we need quite so much repetition? Are three “cosmetic spoons” from ancient Egypt really better than one? How many 18th century porcelain flowers is too many? More than 350 objects are on display here – yet one of the fundamental attributes of a luxury item is its scarcity.
It is a tricky conundrum to navigate – and 10,000 Years of Luxury occasionally becomes snagged on its own (very expensive) rocks. The volume risks diluting the flavour. For all this, however, I haven’t left
an exhibition feeling so exhilarated in a long time. In every room, there is something so delightful, so ravishingly pretty, that it quickens the pulse. Curator Olivier Gabet, director of the Musee des Arts Decoratifs in Paris, has mercifully kept descriptions of the exhibits to a minimum. Many of them transcend context. “People don’t need to have a lot of knowledge and background to understand the beauty of these objects,” Gabet says.
As you enter 10,000 Years of Luxury, you are greeted by the Abu Dhabi Pearl, which was discovered on Marawah Island in 2017. It dates back to 5800-5600 BC and is the earliest pearl yet to have been recorded. This beady little eye stares out at you from the darkness of its glass case, very much of the natural world and yet, in its profound simplicity and elegance, somehow apart from it, too. “Small is beautiful, always,” Gabet says.
These words provide the key to the show. It is rarely the biggest or the glitziest objects, begging too hard for your attention, that surprise you. Far more exciting are the items that refuse to give up their secrets so easily. A 16th century spoon from Germany, with its silver handle and bowl of pink shell whispers at you to come closer. A late 16th century or early 17th century stemmed champagne flute from Venice is so thin and delicate, it seems as though it could be punctured by a single bubble. A collection of 18th century German and French paper fans have been painted with intricate rural scenes, which you could study for hours.
The exhibition is largely chronological but each room is displayed around a theme. Luxury at Court explores how “new horizons in Africa, Asia and the Americas” introduced new wonders into the European princely courts. The Far Reaches of Luxury looks at China and Japan and features what is, to my mind, the finest piece in the exhibition, a Chinese lady’s headdress from the 19th century. It is made up of kingfisher feathers and semiprecious stones, and the colours – red and gold against blue and turquoise – leave you giddy with joy. It is to Gabet’s great credit that he has included objects from all over the world, resisting a Western narrative. For those of you looking for unashamed opulence, there is a wonderfully over-the-top section dedicated to “The World’s Fairs”, at which nations exhibited their achievements, innovations and most opulent objects. And nothing could be more lavish than Henri-Auguste Fourdinois’s colossal oak, bronze and marble door from the 1878 World Fair. It’s a monstrosity, really, and no one bought it. Nevertheless, you can’t help but admire the chutzpah. This section is neatly followed by a set of minimalist 20th century furniture, designed by Jean-Michel Frank, which illustrates how our notions of luxury continue to change and evolve.
The final part of the exhibition focuses predominantly on 20th and 21st century fashion. It is a privilege to see dresses side by side, designed by, among others, Karl Lagerfeld, Chanel and Helmut Lang. Here, right at the end of 10,000 Years of Luxury, the idea that less is more, which had gnawed away at me throughout, is most explicitly illustrated.
An evening gown by Madeleine Vionnet, from her 1920 Winter collection, is simply four silk panels stitched together. It is intimate and self-assured, so at odds with the brash high fashion of the late 20th century and early 21st century when, we are told, “heels became higher” and “shoes boasted rhinestones and sequins, feathers and lace, their luxury of elegance according with a fashion that had few inhibitions”.
If 10,000 Years of Luxury has a message, it is that luxury can mean all things to all people. As a result, it lacks a bit of focus. You never quite get a sense of what exactly binds all these objects together. Wealth? Power? Creativity? Perhaps it’s better to give up on trying to find a common thread and instead pick out, like a magpie, the bits that catch your eye. Just don’t get greedy, try to absorb it all and end up like the tortoise.
10,000 Years of Luxury is at Louvre Abu Dhabi from today until Tuesday, February 18. Tickets and more information are available at louvreabudhabi.ae
People don’t need to have a lot of knowledge and background to understand the beauty of these objects OLIVIER GABET Director, Musee des Arts Decoratifs