Alençon

Alençon is over an hour away, but I really wanted to visit the Musée des Beaux Arts et de la Dentelle. 

Alençon lace or point d'Alençon is a needle lace, sometimes called the "Queen of lace." Lace making began in Alençon during the 16th century and the local industry was rapidly expanded during the reign of Louis XIV by Jean-Baptiste Colbert, who established a Royal Workshop in the town to produce lace in the Venetian style in 1665. The purpose of establishing this workshop was to reduce the French court's dependence on expensive foreign imports. The local lacemakers soon modified the Venetian technique and Alençon emerged as a unique style around 1675.

Though the demand for lace went into sharp decline following the French Revolution, it recovered some of its popularity during the Second French Empire. Marie-Azélie Guérin Martin, the mother of St. Therese of Lisieux, was a famous lace-maker at Alençon. It entered terminal decline at the end of the 19th century with changes in fashion and the development of cheaper, machine-made lace.

Looks like a maple leaf pattern!

 

Lace making survived on a small scale and the technique was preserved by Carmelite nuns in Alençon. In 1976 a National Lace Workshop was established in the town to ensure that this lace-making technique survives.



Bobbin lace

 

UNESCO recognised the unusual craftsmanship of this lace and added it to its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in November 2010.

I loved this particular display since it showed the stages of lacemaking, from the pattern stencil, the piercing of the pattern, the horse hair used to make fine lines, the blade used to separate the base from the lace, and the lobster claw used to "iron" the work by enhancing each stitch.

For detailed information on the ten stages of Alençon Lace, please refer to:  http://www.normandie-chambres.co.uk/alencon.html#lace

This painting is of a farm girl (she is wearing "sabots" shoes and a peasant dress) falling asleep after a long day's field work and not completing her lace-making obligations.  The material lies untouched next to her on the table.  The Holy Mother comes during the night and finishes the work for her so that she may sleep, not lose her position, and be paid for her work.

The Museum has much more than lace on display.  There are paintings, sculptures, and

 

an interesting section on WWI.   When men were told to report for duty, the request came on a pink paper.  Karl figured that the "pink slip" has survived through the ages...

 

 

 

Alençon is a beautiful town.  It is the capital of the Orne department (where Ceaucé is located).  This building is the Palais de Justice (Courthouse Building).

This is what's left of the Château des Ducs.  We were sitting right across for our Perrier and beer.

Now for a word from our sponsor!  When walking around town, we came across all these neat posters, encouraging people to eat more fruit and vegetables.  They've taken a rather novel approach!



Basilique Notre-Dame

Lacy stone patterns...

Close-up detail

Sidebar:  Ste. Thérèse de Lisieux, also known as "The Little Flower", was born in Alençon in 1873.  As referenced earlier, her mother was a famous lace maker.  Thérèse has been a highly influential model of sanctity for Roman Catholics and for others because of the "simplicity and practicality of her approach to the spiritual life."  Together with St. Francis of Assisi, she is one of the most popular saints in the history of the church.  Pope Pius X called her "the greatest saint of modern times".

So, what time is it?

If this is the lock, I wonder how huge the key is...



Historical Battles and their dates

Stopped for dinner at the wonderful restaurant "Rive Droite", next to the river.



Fancy menus that opened with a leather strap attached by Velcro.

The entrée was the BEST tomato tart I've ever eaten!  It was on a crispy crust and boasted at least 4 types of tomatoes, then broiled to warm yumminess.  (Note those slate platters again!)

I had "Dorade" as my main course (bream fish) with a very crispy skin, served on veggies.

Karl had the lamb shoulder which he said was tender with no fatty bites.

The meal finale was coffee, "un grand café crème", with a small coconut cake.  Before you feel sorry for us not indulging in dessert, you may wish to note that we had pizza and a flaming crèpe at lunchtime in Domfront on our way to Alençon.

 



 

 

This painting was on the restaurant wall across from Karl.

 



 

Comment for the day:  I had thought of buying a small piece of lace, but given that they ranged from 300 euros for a 1 cm square to 2,500 euros for a larger piece, I bought 3 post cards...  Spent my money on a bottle of perfume instead!