Sublimer l'étoffe

The Museum of Textiles and Decorative Arts and the Fourvière Museum have joined forces to present a unique exhibition dedicated to the dialogues between textile design, contemporary art, fashion, and the sacred. Through exceptional works and iconic collaborations (Matisse, Castelbajac, the Pontifical Sacristy), the exhibition reveals how fabric—a medium for expression and innovation—has inspired artists and designers for centuries in their quest for beauty, meaning, and spirituality.

Discover in this exhibition how, in the 20th century, new collaborations emerged as certain contemporary artists turned their attention to textiles—not merely as a medium but as a vehicle for experimenting with three-dimensional forms, ranging from silk squares to upholstery fabrics and liturgical vestments. These three uses of fabric reveal the place of textiles in our society, spanning fashion accessories, interior design, and liturgical vestments—which have always drawn upon artists to create their ornaments.

At the same time, through some fifty works spanning the 14th to the 21st centuries, explore the permanent exhibition that traces the Marian devotion in Lyon that led to the construction of the Basilica of Fourvière.