In Conches-en-ouche, The Museum Of Glass Dazzles Visitors
The Glass Museum of Conches-en-Ouche, in the Eure region, has just reopened after three years of work. Now installed in a former Benedictine abbey, this transparent place honors the thousand-year-old art of glass and pays tribute to a local artist, the master glassmaker François Décorchemont.
A museum to rediscover
Conches-en-Ouche in the Eure is the birthplace of the glass artist François Décorchemont (1880-1971). It is to preserve and showcase the rare stained glass windows and objects of this local child that this Normandy commune opened a Glass Museum in 1996.
Over the years, the museum has enriched its collection with exceptional pieces, thanks to donations and grants. It quickly gained an international reputation. Its reserves now house more than 600 pieces, 250 of which are on public display.
A magnificent renovation
To enhance the collection of the Glass Museum of Conches-en-Ouche, the municipality decided to move it into a former Benedictine abbey that had been transformed into a hospice and then into an EHPAD.
It took three years of work and 5 million euros of investment to bring the new museum to life, which just opened its doors to the public on June 25, 2022.
Now named Francois-Decorchemont Glass Museum, this place offers an area of 1200 m2 on two levels. Its design was entrusted to the Parisian firm Dupont & Associés, which was also responsible for the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Caen, the Musée Toulouse-Lautrec in Albi and the Musée Lorrain in Nancy.
The museum now welcomes its visitors through a huge colored glass door, and invites them to wander through very bright corridors. Indeed, a place full of transparency was needed to retrace the history of glass from the end of the 19th century until today in the fields of decorative arts, stained glass and sculpture.
An exploration of the thousand-year-old art of glass
In its new setting, the museum offers a journey through time, from Art Nouveau glassworks to contemporary glass sculptures via Art Deco and the production of Biot's small factories!
The creations of François Décorchemont are of course highlighted, including his huge stained glass windows made of glass paste set with cement. The centerpiece of the collections is a stained glass window designed in 1962 that once adorned the Town Hall.
It is planned that two to three temporary exhibitions per year will come into dialogue with the permanent collections of the François-Decorchemont Glass Museum. Currently, one of these temporary exhibitions presents to the public the photographic work of Christian Siloé, who followed the building's renovation.
Before leaving the museum, don't miss admiring the chapel and its stained glass windows made in the 19th century by the Duhamel-Marette workshop. In Conches-en-Ouche, the talent of glass artists has not finished dazzling you!
Practical information
Address
François Décorchemont Glass Museum
25, rue du docteur Paul Guilbaud
27190 Conches-en-Ouche
Contact
Phone : 02 32 30 90 41
Mail : [email protected]
Schedules
The museum is open from March to November.
- Open from Wednesday to Sunday: from 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm
- Closed on public holidays except July 14
