Lighting, Art nouveau modernity

Artists from the École de Nancy were among the first to design electric lighting. The museum holds around thirty of these pieces, some of which are emblems of Art nouveau.

With the advent of domestic electricity, Nancy's designers came up with the first models of light fittings, both free-standing or hanging. The permanent collections feature several examples of these, which help to recreate the atmosphere of a 1900 home. The first pieces were added to the collections with a donation from Eugène Corbin in 1935, and the collection has been  gradually developed.

From 1902 onwards, Émile Gallé turned his attention to lamps and once again found his inspiration in nature to create completely new objects. The frame of the umbel lamp for example, was inspired by the stem and leaves of this plant, while  flowers and seeds decorated the bowl and its stand. Les Pontédéries centrepiece and the Oignon suspension lamp bear witness to the resources found in plants to design these new objects. The  Les Coprins lamp illustrates three mushrooms in various stages of growth, and gave rise to the famous "mushroom lamps" of Nancy's Art nouveau mouvement.

The Daum factory collaborated with Louis Majorelle in this field, combining glass globes and metal frames. The Flambeau Magnolia is a perfect example. The support evokes the dynamic and vertical movement of the stems, while the fine engraved and coloured glass work of the globes reproduces the skin tone  of the flowers. The  Figuier de barbarie lamp adopts the same principle, combining patinated metalwork and coloured glass for this exceptional and unique luminaire.

The museum also holds lamps by the Muller brothers, in particular the  La nuit lamp, which is more classical in its shape and  evocative of owls and bats.