New Lalique museum in Alsace, France

A new museum spotlighting the work of the famous French Art Nouveau jewelry and ornament designer Rene Lalique will open in Alsace next month. The museum has been built in the heart of the Northern Vosges Nature reserve, in the village where Rene Lalique set up his factory just after the first World War. Reissues of some of Lalique’s older works and contemporary designs are still produced in the company’s factory at Wingen-sur-Moder and the museum is close by, on the site of an old glassmaking works which operated in the 18th and 19th centuries. René Lalique (1860 – 1945) was one of the foremost creators of Art Noveau and Art Deco glass and crystal and was influenced by the Arts & Crafts Movement whilst studying in England. He is also widely regarded as the founder of modern jewellery. In addition to displaying the many facets of Rene Lalique’s work up to his death in 1945, Lalique crystal, which his family concentrated on after his death, will also be given prominence in the museum and homage will be paid to the Alsace glassmakers who perpetuate the expertise. Exhibits will be based on works belonging to the museum’s permanent collection as well as loans from the Lalique Company and major Parisian museums such as the Musee des Arts Decoratifs and the Musee des Arts et Metiers.