Furniture: renewing the living environment

As the museum recreates the atmosphere of the Belle Époque, furniture  features prominently in the permanent collections, from chairs to more imposing ensembles, giving to each room an assigned function: dining room, bedroom, study, library, etc.

The furniture by Émile Gallé is both historical, such as the Le Rhin table, and naturalist in the inlaid motifs and the shapes. The Aube et crépuscule bed (1903-1904), the museum's centrepiece, demonstrates  the latest technical and artistic advances made by the cabinetmaker.

The Majorelle collection bears witness to the artist's attachment to 18th century taste. It includes furniture decorated with inlaid panels. A desk, a pedestal table and a bookcase combining mahogany and gilded bronze on the theme of water lilies  are a proof of the evolution of Majorelle's production in 1900, which made in very famous.

The work of Eugène Vallin is illustrated by several pieces of furniture from the collection of Eugène Corbin, who acquired several important pieces: the Banquette au mineur, the Bureau aux ombelles and the Vitrine Hekking. The Masson dining room is the only truly reconstructed ensemble in the museum; it combines furniture by Vallin, leather panels, a painted ceiling by Victor Prouvé, and lighting fixtures by Daum. It is a perfect example of the unity of arts advocated by the École de Nancy.

The museum exhibits furniture by other artists who were also interested in this field, such as the glass painter Jacques Gruber, who combined leather or engraved glass decorative panels with his pieces. Or the architect Émile André, who also designed the interiors and furniture of his buildings.

The success of Gallé and Majorelle encouraged other cabinetmakers to produce naturalist furniture, distributed through catalogues and aimed at a more modest clientele, such as the Salon aux Ombelles by Gauthier-Poinsignon.