René Lalique
- The Swedish Glass Museum
One of the museum’s more spectacular glass collections comes from the French glass artist René Lalique (1860–1945). Born in Aÿ-Champagne in 1860, Lalique would go on to become one of the most prominent designers of his time. He was active both as a jeweller and a glassmaker, and his distinctive style had a major influence on the Art Nouveau and Art Deco movements.
After studying at the Collège Turgot and the École des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, as well as the Crystal Palace School of Art in London, Lalique began creating Art Nouveau jewellery in 1885. From 1902, he started experimenting with moulded glass, and in the early 1910s, he gave up jewellery design to fully dedicate himself to glass.
Lalique established two glassworks in the Alsace region: one in Combs-la-Ville in 1913 and another in Wingen-sur-Moder in 1922. He designed hood ornaments (car mascots), perfume bottles, tableware and art glass – often produced entirely or partly using press-moulding techniques, and frequently in semi-opaque or fluorescent tones. His works were refined through etching, engraving and polishing, and became widely admired.
More than a century after Lalique founded his first glassworks, the name still endures. The brand remains associated today with luxurious creations such as jewellery, perfume and art glass.
