Background Information | the Museum's Lace Gallery
Calais Museum of Fine Arts and Lace

Rodin & sculpture
Modern art gallery
History of lace-making in Calais
background information/ factory shops

Rodin & sculpture Calais Museum has an international reputation for the quality of its art collections. It concentrates on 19th and 20th century sculpture (Rodin, Carpeaux, Gonzales), and sculptors' preparatory designs on paper. In the gallery you can follow the evolution of Rodin's studies for his famous monument to the Six Bourgeoises of Calais, which stands outside Calais Town Hall. You can see how he conveyed the powerful emotions attachd to this story of Calais' leading citizens surrendering to the English after starving for a year inside the walls of the besieged town. The gallery has other examples of this important 19th century artform..

Rodin's famous Six Burghers Monument outside Calais Town Hall

1. The scultpture gallery. 2. Rodin's study (1885-6) for the figure of Pierre de Wissant, one of the Six Burghers. 3. Antoine Louis Barye: "Napoleon wearing a frock coat" 1862.

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Jean Dubuffet: detail from "Paysage du Pas-de-Calais II""	Modern Art Gallery The Museum also has a noted collection of the work of twentieth century painters and sculptors, such as Jean Dubuffet (left), and Pablo Picasso (see below). Back to top
1. Pablo Picasso: "Woman's Face" (1962). 2. Pablo Picasso: "The Old Man" (1970)

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History of Lace-making in Calais
1. Lace Room in the Museum	Lace-making machines You're looking at a machine that brought new prosperity to Calais after the Napoleonic Wars - it makes fine lace [see 'History of lace-making']. Not many people know that much of the world's lace for wedding dresses and ladies' underwear comes from Nord/Pas-de-Calais! Examples of stylish lace Calais museum has a collection of over 400,000 pieces of machine- and hand-made lace. You can see the early machines that created this industry, and find out how they were smuggled from England. There are examples of designer lace dresses and lingerie from the 17th century to the present day - together with information about the social context of lace-making. Back to top
Old and new...    2. Traditional lace head-dress, once worn by peasant women on special occasions 3. Modern 'haute couture' from Paris fashion houses often uses Calais lace. 4. The Museum's vast collection of pattern books includes many special lace items made to commemorate special events, like this lace doily made to mark Louis Blériot's flight across the Channel in July 1909. [see Timeline]
The displays of local history, archaeology, and geology include a model of the old walled town of Calais, with its medieval buildings as it was before the bombing of the Second World War. Back to top
...Send in a review.. Reviewer - ?? Location: Musée Municipal, rue Richelieu [in town centre] Information/ group bookings: Tel: 00 33 3 21 46 48 40	Background Information History of lace-making Textile industry Industrial revolution in north France Regional Art Galleries - and Art MENU

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