INDEX
Final Years: Reflecting on Life and Death
Starting around the year after the 1900 Expo, it is said that Gallé began to repeatedly undergo treatment. In the final exhibition room, with the lights dimmed, Gallé’s works from his final years emerge under the spotlight. As you view them, try to quietly engage with the works, aligning yourself with Gallé’s heart as he continued to create in the face of death, possibly fully aware of it.
One of Gallé’s famous works, the mushroom lamp, is inspired by the “Hyotake” (One-Night Mushroom). This mysterious mushroom dissolves and disappears from the edge of its cap after it matures, due to its own enzymes. The liquefaction and disappearance are believed to be for the purpose of dispersing spores, thus ensuring the next generation. Perhaps Gallé felt a connection to the cycle of life, including his own, in this phenomenon.
The final work you will encounter in this exhibition is, once again, the dragonfly. Created between 1903 and 1904, it was made in the year Gallé passed away from leukemia, or possibly the year before. Through a combination of complex techniques, the dragonfly appears to be desperately fluttering its wings. One could interpret this as a reflection of Gallé himself, struggling to continue creating until the very end of his life. On the other hand, the milky-white cup resembles an eggshell, evoking a sense of something new and larger being born, giving the piece a mysterious brightness.
Gallé passed away in 1904 at the age of 58. In his final years, he was dedicated to the formation of the Industrial Arts Alliance in his hometown of Nancy. Knowing this, in light of the history of his relationship with his hometown that we’ve seen in this exhibition, it evokes a feeling of sadness.
