Five reasons to visit the Lalique Museum

Opened in 2011, this public museum dedicated to the master of Art Nouveau is located in a region with a rich glass-making history. It was in the village of Wingen-sur-Moder that the versatile artist established his manufacturing workshop in 1921. While the collection is organized chronologically and focuses on his glass works, there are also around sixty magnificent pieces of jewelry.

The museum houses iconic pieces that are referenced in books and international exhibitions, such as the corsage front made up of five swallows (one of Lalique's first pieces of jewelry). It is the only museum to boast a remarkable series of dog collars formed by spectacular enameled plates. And then there are the night butterfly brooches, glorious creations in blue-grey glass, or the "The Faun's Kiss" bracelet in bright green glass. "René Lalique had a predilection for this material which enabled him to work in volume to obtain mini sculptures and fantastic plays of light. The effect is incomparable: the figures come out of the frame and come to life," explains Véronique Brumm Schaich, the museum's director.

This museum enables the jewelry pieces to be placed in the context of an oeuvre that was subsequently entirely devoted to glass. In 1912, he stopped creating necklaces, bracelets, and combs. The collection of perfume bottles, showcasing his technical virtuosity and eternal inspirations, is impressive. Don't miss the tiare bottle caps, an allusion to his first job! That is followed by a profusion of vases, tableware, cups, and Art Deco lighting fixtures. He even created sacred art. "The inventor of modern jewelry" became a "poet of glass." In 1945, the material became scarce; René Lalique passed away, and his son Marc took the path of crystal, the focus of the final room, to prepare for its entry into the 21st century.

This museum, located in Wingen-sur-Moder, in the heart of the Northern Vosges – a region with a rich glassmaking tradition – gives visitors a rich insight into the growing importance of glass in the work of René Lalique. In fact, at the height of his career, he even abandoned jewelry-making altogether.

By Sandrine Merle.