Lalique Museum Becomes A Reality: A Musée de France dedicated to Rene Lalique to Open July 2nd!
It was over two years ago that we reported the news on these pages that the long-awaited ground breaking ceremony for the new Musée Lalique had taken place on November 8th, 2008. How long-awaited? Here is a photo* from 2003 of the site which 8 years later is the location for the new Lalique Museum.
We put forth our view in that early 2009 article that an official museum in France dedicated to Rene Lalique would be great news for all R Lalique and Rene Lalique Enthusiasts and Collectors.
Well readers, good news is upon us. For after nearly 2 and 1/2 years of construction, and many more years of planning even before that time, the new Musée Lalique will open its doors to the public on July 2nd, 2011 in the small town of Wingen Sur Moder in the historic glassmaking region of Alsace.
Wingen Sur Moder, located in the northeastern part of France near the border with Germany, is also the home of the great Lalique glassmaking factory opened by Rene Lalique in 1921. This factory survived German occupation in World War II, and it still operates today making leaded crystal for the modern Cristal Lalique Company, a company officially called Lalique SA. Just above is a 2007 photo of the future site, this time with a building that has a roof :).**
And during these last couple of years while construction progressed, many supporters, contributors and readers of this website have jumped-in to assist the Musée in various ways as it built its collection, its research library, and its opening exhibition inventory. You can read about a few of the R.Lalique enthusiasts who worked with the Musée on the About Us page at RLalique.com.
Following is a pre-construction design concept for the Musée on the site shown in the two preceding photos. The concept appears to be true to the architecture and history of the area, and to the beauty and rural nature of the natural surroundings. ***
We will publish more information about the Musée Lalique between now and the early part of July. And we thought it would be a good idea in conjunction with this announcement to give you a short introduction to an interview which will form the basis for those upcoming articles.
It was over a year and a half ago, in the cold of winter (not really too cold at World Headquarters, but cold in a lot of other places according to news reports :), that we began interviewing Veronique Brumm, the Project Leader who began working on the Musée Lalique many years ago.
Veronique’s involvement with almost all facets of the creation of the Musée over an extended time period made her the best choice for us to bring detailed, informative, and up-to-date information and news to you concerning the Musée now that the opening is imminent. Note that Veronique answered our most recently submitted questions just two weeks ago!
Keep in mind as we go forward the next several weeks that the interview has been slightly edited for all the typical reasons including the flow of the articles, combining answers, and accounting for the different times the questions were asked. However, no facts have been altered. Here is the short intro:
Veronique, what is your official title now (2010) and what will it be when the Musée opens?
Project Leader is my official title, and when the Musée opens, my title and responsibility will be Director.
How long have you been working on the Musée Lalique project?
I’ve been working on the Musée Lalique project since 2004.
Can you tell us about your professional background and how you came to your current role with the museum?
A historian by training, I have focused my research on the history of glassmaking in the Northern Vosges, the region where René Lalique decided to build the Verrerie d’Alsace just after the First World War.
Veronique, can you talk a little about the pieces owned by the Musée and also the items in the opening exhibition?
We now own more or less 400 pieces, and for the opening, we will show more or less 650 items.
The second article in this series will appear in coming days.
* Photo Credit: Communauté de Communes du Pays de La Petite Pierre
** Photo Credit: Communauté de Communes du Pays de La Petite Pierre
*** Photo Credit: Wilmotte – Artefactory
**** Photo of Veronique Brumm, Musée Lalique Director
***** Photo Credit of Car Mascot Display: David Desaleux
All Articles on These Topics: R Lalique and Rene Lalique News, Rene Lalique Museums: R Lalique Museum Collections
