Lalique Magazine 2026_ENG

The Lalique Museum

The road winds through the dense forests of the Northern Vosges before revealing a quiet village bathed in shades of green. Here sits Wingen-sur-Moder, Lalique’s beating heart for more than a hundred years. Just steps from the still-operating crystal manufacture, the Lalique Museum immerses visitors in the world of the House founded by René Lalique, the visionary artist who transformed both jewellery and glassmaking. Preserved with great care, this artistic and cultural adventure unfolds inside an architec tural gem seamlessly integrated into a protected Natura 2000 landscape. “We are on the former Hochberg glassworks site, active in the 18th and 19th centuries,” explains Véronique Brumm Schaich, who has led the Lalique Museum since its open ing in 2011. After an architectural competition, Jean Michel Wilmotte was chosen to design the home of the permanent collections, with several environmental con straints in mind. Semi-buried beneath a green roof, the building blends seamlessly into the terrain. Green stone, glass, concrete – the materials converse quietly with the surrounding fir trees. From Art Nouveau jewellery to contemporary creation Upon entering the museum, a monumental chandelier by Marc Lalique, René’s son, glimmers above the vesti bule. “This three-metre-high cascade of crystal, weigh ing 1.6 tons, was created in 1951 for the exhibition The Art of Glass at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris,” Véronique Brumm Schaich explains. “Sixty years later, the museum entrusted it to us, and the Lalique manu facture fully restored almost 120 pieces right here in Wingen-sur-Moder. It’s symbolic: a chandelier that has finally come home.” The visit begins with the jewellery that made René Lalique famous during the Belle Époque. In a carefully orchestrated half-light, a bronze Femme Ailée (Winged Woman) draws the eye. “This exceptional piece, created for the 1900 World’s Fair, was one of five sculptures that adorned the Lalique stand in the jewellers’ pavilion,” notes Véronique Brumm Schaich. Around her, cases display Art Nouveau jewels filled with enameled dragonflies, iridescent glass and translucent horn. “Tired of being copied, René Lalique sought new hori zons,” Véronique Brumm Schaich continues, leading us into a section where glass takes centre stage – a success story born from Lalique’s meeting with perfumer François Coty. Together they pioneered the mass-produced yet beautifully designed perfume bottle, democratising a new art form. From perfume bottles to decorative objects, the exhibition unfolds both chronologically and thematically, taking visi tors through the 1900 World’s Fair, the 1925 International Exhibition of Decorative Arts, sacred art and more. Films, photographs and documents bring these milestones viv idly to life.

exhibitions each year. “During the museum’s January closure, our team replaces almost 70% of the pieces in the permanent exhibition,” she explains. This turnover is made possible by the 703 works in the museum’s own collection, which has grown thanks to generous recent donations. In total, 3,110 pieces are showcased, including prestigious loans from the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, the Mobilier National, and private collectors. Among them is Silvio Denz, Executive Chairman of Lalique Group, and one of the world’s fore most perfume-bottle collectors, with around 250 pieces on display. The museum multiplies initiatives to reach every audi ence. “We run many programmes for children, with work shops that let them discover the museum in a playful way,” Véronique Brumm Schaich notes. In summer, the muse um even turns into a seaside resort during the “Vive les vacances” programme, exploring glassmaking through beach-themed games: “Wingen-sur-Moder becomes Win gen-sur-Mer!” she laughs. Before leaving, visitors can breathe in the peaceful gardens where lilies, dahlias and anemones – flowers beloved by René Lalique – bloom freely. One leaves with a full heart.

The secrets of crystal “The skill of the region’s glassmakers is one of the reasons René Lalique settled in the Northern Vosges in 1919, built his villa here, and opened his factory in 1922,” Véronique Brumm Schaich reminds us. She activates a touchscreen table that breaks down the 30 hours of work required to create the Bacchantes vase, an icon of the house since 1927. This section reveals the ancestral gestures: sculpting the mould, gathering molten crystal on a blowpipe, press ing, acid baths that achieve the matt finish, and polishing – each step culminating in Lalique’s signature satin-fin ished brilliance. A film shot inside the manufacture showcases the grace ful choreography of the glassmakers, the precision of their movements, the controlled rotation of molten crystal. “Today, nearly 150 artisans continue to uphold these tech niques,” Brumm Schaich adds. “Five of them hold the title of Meilleurs Ouvriers de France.” A museum for everyone With 52,000 visitors each year, the Lalique Museum has become a cultural landmark in Alsace. “We welcome visitors from France, Germany, Switzerland, the Benelux countries – even from America and Asia,” Véronique Brumm Schaich says proudly. “And our local public is very loyal, with a strong rate of return.” The secret? A rich and ever-renewed offering, with no fewer than four temporary

The Lalique Museum, exterior views.

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