Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Lalique Museum, inaugurated in July 2011 in Wingen-sur-Moder (Bas-Rhin, Grand Est), is the only European museum entirely dedicated to the work of René Lalique (1860–1945), master glassmaker and jeweller emblematic of Art Nouveau and Art Deco, as well as his successors. Installed on the old glass site of the Hochberg, it presents about 650 pieces from its collections, deposits of the company Lalique, and loans from Parisian museums (Decorative Arts, Arts and Crafts) or private collectors. The building, designed by the architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte in collaboration with the CRUPI workshop and the dUCCS scene, is distinguished by its landscape integration: semi-entered, with a vegetated roof and glass galleries linking spaces, it dialogues with the surrounding Vosges forest and the industrial remains of the 19th century.

The permanent exhibition, organized in a thematic and chronological way, traces the career of Lalique, from Art Nouveau jewelry to contemporary crystal creations, including perfume bottles, architectural elements (such as radiator caps) and table arts. The artist's main sources of inspiration — women, fauna and flora — are highlighted, while a tribute is paid to glassmakers perpetuating traditional know-how. Multimedia media (audiovisuals, photographs, archival documents) complete the set to contextualize his work in his time. The museum also offers annual temporary exhibitions, often labeled of national interest, exploring various themes: collaborations with modern artists (Picasso, Chagall), the aquatic world of Lalique, or the history of flaking and perfume.

Managed by a mixed union involving the Greater East Region, the European Community of Alsace, the community of communes of Hanau-La Petite Pierre and the municipality of Wingen-sur-Moder, the Lalique museum is part of a dynamic of valorizing the local glass heritage. Its outdoor course interprets the history of the Hochberg site and the North Vosges glassmakers, while its gardens, inspired by Lalique's darling nature, create a link between art and the environment. Accessible to all (persons with reduced mobility, families), it has modern facilities: shop, restaurant, auditorium and changing room. Since 2020, it has adapted its programming to health constraints, as evidenced by the photographic exhibition "Gests and know-how" (2020) highlighting the trades of crystallary.

Among the notable exhibitions are " Suzanne Lalique-Haviland, the reinvented decor" (2012, labeled by the Ministry of Culture), "Le Verre et les grands maîtres de l'art moderne" (2013, with works by Chagall or Picasso), "Lalique et l'art du voyage" (2016, on creations for ships and luxury trains), or "100 ans de Lalique en Alsace" (2022), celebrating the centenary of the local implantation of the brand. In 2023, "Faune Power 3" brought together the collections of the Lalique Museum, the Meisenthal Glass Museum and the Grande Place – Musée Saint-Louis, highlighting the links between glassmaking and animal representation.

The Lalique Museum is also a regional cultural actor participating in events such as the International Glass Biennale (2015). Its territorial anchoring is strengthened by partnerships with institutions such as French Lines (for the 2016 travel exhibition) or the Musée des Arts Décoratifs de Paris. The scenography, praised for its balance between modernity and heritage, and the wealth of external loans (including Parisian museums) make it a reference point for the study of glass and crystal, while attracting a diverse audience, from art lovers to tourists in search of Alsatian industrial heritage.

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