Probably, Madame Tussauds is known to each of us. The main exhibition of the museum is located in London, and it has branches in almost all European capitals, and even in China and on the American continent: in Copenhagen, Hong Kong, Berlin, Amsterdam and the largest cities in the USA. Back in the 19th century, the museum hospitably opened its doors, but even today it enjoys enormous popularity, to the envy of its competitors. Everyone has at least heard or even dreams of visiting and seeing with their own eyes the Madame Tussauds wax museum, but few people were interested in who and when it was founded, as well as the biography of this unique woman.
Brief biographical information
In December 1761, in the German town of Strasbourg, a daughter, Maria, was born into the family of the executioner Johann-Joseph Grosholz and Anna. Just 2 months earlier, Johann died in the war. But his wife Anna was not at all upset about this, since from her youth she had been in love with the young and talented doctor and sculptor Philip Wilhelm Curtius.
Having lost her husband, Anna and her little daughter go to find their happiness in Bern, where she gets a job as a housekeeper for her lover. Curtius, by the way, along with medical practice, successfully taught, and for clarity, he personally prepared teaching aids for internal organs from wax. And given the doctor’s more than modest salary and Curtius’ natural talent, he also earned extra money by making wax busts of people and decorating them with wardrobe items.
In 1763, Philip Curtius moved to Paris with Anna and 6-year-old Marie. His father's affection for Marie pushed Philip into long, regular sessions with the girl: first, he trained her memory by giving her tasks to draw people they met by chance on the street, and then he began to involve the girl in making wax figures in his medical workshop. It was in those early years that the foundations were laid for the creation of Madame Tussauds' wax museum.
In 1771, Curtius gained fame by exhibiting sculptures of the newlyweds Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette in his exhibition hall. It was Mary's stepfather, Philip Curtius, who invented the idea of creating wax doubles of celebrities, which was later implemented by Tussaud. Even Louis XVI was among the museum's regulars. Maria in those days only sold tickets at the entrance.
The creative path of Maria Grosholz
And by the age of 16, the girl knew how to independently make full-fledged figures. The first was the statue of Francois Voltaire, who, by the way, soon died. Today this very first figure of Mary occupies a place of honor in Madame Tussauds in London.
At the age of 19, the girl moved to Versailles at the invitation of Louis to teach his sister Elizabeth her skills. Just 9 months later, Marie, along with members of the dynasty, found herself in the Bastille. For several months, Marie was in a cell with the notorious Josephine, Napoleon's wife in the future. Having been freed from the Bastille, the girl was not at a loss and, despite the obvious decline in the interest of French society in the museum, turned to the main revolutionary Robespierre with a proposal to create his figure for the museum. Other famous revolutionaries followed his example. Among others, the creation of a wax composition that immortalized the death of the main revolutionary Marat at the hands of Charlotte Corday was significant. By the way, Maria also met Charlotte during her ill-fated imprisonment in the Bastille.
Then Maria, as if instinctively, returned to her father’s trade - she began to collaborate with the executioners, who gave her the heads of the victims. Maria removed their death masks and exhibited them in the museum. One of the most popular was the composition “Death of a Titan,” depicting the death of Robespierre.
How Madame Tussauds wax museum was created
As already mentioned, the museum was started by Philip Curtius, the stepfather of Maria Grosholtz (Tussaud's married life). In 1794, Maria inherited the museum due to the death of Philip and continued its brilliant development. A year later, the girl marries Francois, a successful engineer, and takes his surname Tussaud. With a difference of 2 years, the couple gave birth to two sons. The woman’s career began to decline when Josephine invited her to her place with a request to create a figure of Napoleon.
At the beginning of the 19th century, Maria separated from her husband and left for England. Thus the connection between the great woman sculptor and brilliant France is severed.
For some time Marie travels around England, tirelessly continuing to work on the collection. Madame Tussauds, whose sculptures mainly depicted historical figures of France, was replenished with new faces - Richard I, Cromwell, Henry VII stood in line with others. Here Marie was helped by her old connections with the French executioners. In 1804, during a voyage to Liverpool, the museum suffered a sad fate - the ship was wrecked and all the figures sank. But Maria, with her characteristic tenacity, working around the clock, restored all the lost figures using backup casts.
Over time, the grown-up children actively joined the ranks of the family “business.” The museum's collection includes heirs to thrones and even Queen Victoria herself. After this, almost immediately Madame Tussauds in London became one of the most famous attractions in Great Britain. Yes, however, the museum generously shared its fame with the brilliant owner of the “dolls”, giving her the title of one of the most famous and successful women in the whole world.
On the laurels of glory
Until 1835, Maria toured with the museum throughout England and beyond, and then settled in her mansion in London. Even old age could not moderate the creative fervor of this truly amazing woman - until the age of 81, she continued to actively work on creating exhibits. By the way, the last figure was a self-portrait of Maria. Immediately before her death, Maria became interested in creating cartoons.
The recent history of Madame Tussauds wax museum
It is well known that in order to be immortalized at Tussauds, you need to be a truly outstanding personality. And only one person in all of history refused to create her own figure - Mother Teresa. To date, the London exhibition includes over 1000 exhibits.
- At the end of the 19th century, the museum’s collection contained only about a hundred figures, all of which were stored for 2 to 3 years and then fell into disrepair. And only the sons of Tussaud invented the method of “preserving” the figures so that the wax did not deteriorate.
- If at first the museum exhibited mainly politicians, now their ranks have been supplemented by actors and singers, scientists and TV presenters, and even porn actresses!
- Some of the figures presented in the exhibition can make simple movements and even talk!
- The current value of the museum is about $2 billion.
- Children under 9 years old are not allowed into the museum.
- Some figures can not only move and speak, but even blush from the immodest glances of visitors (such as Jennifer Lopez)!
Wax figures: what else?
In addition to thousands of wax figures of celebrities from different genres, eras and nations, in the halls of the museum you can also visit the chamber of horrors, and even go on a unique taxi journey through the centuries.
How to get to Madame Tussauds in London?
It couldn't be easier! It is enough to become a sports legend, a world political leader, an international pop star... Or fly to the capital of Great Britain and hit the road to the Baker Street metro station (yes, after Tussauds, you can also visit Sherlock Holmes!) , and a 2-minute walk to Marylebone is the desired museum.
Madame Tussauds in Amsterdam
There are 40 wax museum branches around the world, and the very first of them (of course, after the London office) was opened in Amsterdam. It features figures of sports stars such as David Beckham, Ronaldinho and Rafael van der Vaart. In the hall dedicated to members of the royal family, you will feel at least like a royal person - such an atmosphere of luxury reigns here. And in the hall of culture and art you will have a unique opportunity to take pictures with Picasso, Van Gogh and Rembrandt. And at the same time, get inspired and create your own masterpiece. But the most popular, especially among young people, is the hall of showbiz stars - here you will meet J. Lo, Brad Pitt, Beyoncé and even George Clooney. Those who are particularly inventive can even lie down on the sofa next to Robbie Williams!
The Tussauds Museum opened in Berlin is unique in its liveliness and realism. Firstly, there are as many as 7 thematic exhibition halls. And secondly, here you can not only look at sculptures skillfully created from wax, or take pictures with them, but also directly participate in the exhibitions! You can take a moonwalk lesson from the King of Pop Michael Jackson, sing karaoke or create your own photo in the pop art style of Andy Warhol. And finally, you can even go behind the scenes and see with your own eyes how delicate the craft is in creating masterpieces from wax. And as a surprise, you can order a wax print of your palm or even a bust from the museum.
Madame Tussauds Wax Museum boasts the number of exhibits, the number of branches around the world, the number of visitors, but, unfortunately, the number of fakes. At Tussauds, the figures are so striking in their realism that sometimes you get the feeling that you really are in 19th-century Britain, surrounded by French revolutionaries and Napoleon Bonaparte himself.
Anne-Marie Tussaud called the woman who brought history to life. Her wax museum known all over the world, there are its branches in many cities. But few people know about how it all began and what prompted the young woman to collaborate with the executioners and sculpt masks of executed royalists, revolutionaries and criminals.
Madame Tussaud's official biography states that her father was a military man who died 2 months before the birth of his daughter. Usually it is not mentioned that in her father’s family all the men were executioners. But Anna-Maria's father Joseph Grossholz did not follow in the footsteps of his ancestors; he really was a soldier. However, his daughter had to deal with executioners throughout her life.
Anna-Marie was born in 1761 in France; later she and her mother moved to Switzerland. There, Anna's mother got a job as a housekeeper for the famous sculptor Philip Curtis. He first made anatomical wax models for medical purposes, and then began creating portraits and figures. Wax sculptures were in demand and brought considerable income to their manufacturer. Curtis soon began creating wax portraits of members of the royal family, moved to Paris and opened his own studio. Anna-Maria spent hours watching the master work and soon decided to try sculpting herself. She became a student and assistant to the sculptor, and already at the age of 17 she created her first independent work - a bust of Voltaire. The work was displayed in the workshop window, and people crowded around the windows all day long.
In 1779, Anna Maria received an invitation to teach the king's sister Elizabeth her skills. She remained court sculptor for the next 10 years until the French Revolution began. The woman, as an accomplice of the royalists, was thrown behind bars and was about to be executed, but at the last moment she was pardoned. She was offered to make death masks of the executed Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette.
Cooperation with the revolutionaries was forced - if she refused, she herself would have been deprived of her life. The collection included more and more figures of executed victims of the revolution. All Parisian executioners knew it, allowing them to remove the masks from their victims during their lifetime and cut their hair after execution. “I paid for these relics by having blood on my hands. These memories will not leave me as long as I live,” she said. She also had to sculpt masks of criminals, and then she came up with an idea: not to show them one by one, but to build a plot composition of the crime. This was the first step towards creating a museum.
In 1795, the woman married the engineer Francois Tussaud. Due to her husband's addiction to gambling and alcohol, the marriage did not last long, and Anna-Maria left for the UK. There she expanded her collection with wax figures of English politicians and organized exhibitions in different cities. She subsequently received British citizenship and, at age 74, opened a permanent museum in London. All the most famous people of the era were immortalized by Madame Tussauds, and people visited the exhibitions in droves.
Even as a famous and wealthy lady, Tussauds continued to collaborate with executioners to make death masks of serial killers and famous criminals. This is how a “room of horrors” appeared in the museum with their figures and sculptures of victims of the French Revolution. Sometimes Madame Tussauds independently conducted excursions for visitors. In a room with a guillotine and figures of executed Frenchmen, she said: “By order of the leaders of the revolution, I had to make wax casts of the heads thrown into the basket by the executioner. Just cut off by this weapon. But they are all my friends, and I would like not to part with them.”
The Tussauds Museum continued its own life and after the death of the founder, it was replenished with new exhibits and opened branches around the world. His story deserves special attention:
Madame Tussauds' art studio has been making wax figures for over one hundred and fifty years. It takes up to four months for another masterpiece to be born; a team of twenty sculptors works on each sculpture. The creators take up to 500 measurements, real hairs are inserted one at a time, and countless layers of paint are designed to recreate the natural color of the skin. This is precisely what Tussaud's wax figures are famous for - their incredible resemblance...
1. New wax portrait (center) of Britney Spears, February 16, 2009, London, England.
2. Wax figure of Paris Hilton in a striped prisoner suit, June 4, 2007, New York. Hilton has been repeatedly cited for drunk driving and speeding.
3. Hugh Jackman as his Wolverine character, September 4, 2009.
4. Supermodel and TV personality Tyra Banks, July 2, 2008, Washington, DC.
5. Nine-year-old Elisinel Martinez touches a wax figure of US President Barack Obama on January 26, 2010.
6. “High School Musical” star Zac Efron, October 9, 2008, London, England.
7. Photographers take pictures of a wax figure of Australian film star Nicole Kidman at the Madame Tussauds wax museum in Hong Kong.
8. Chuck Liddell with his wax double at the branch of Madame Tussauds in Las Vegas, July 1, 2010.
9. A wax replica of US President George W. Bush is seen at Madame Tussauds in Washington, DC on April 10, 2008.
10. British actress Helen Mirren, right, watches her husband Taylor Hackford kiss a wax portrait of his wife at Madame Tussauds in London.
11. Wax portrait of actress Kate Winslet, Madame Tussauds, London, UK, November 9, 2011.
12. Eli Manning of the New York Giants with his wax replica at Madame Tussauds in New York on September 23, 2008.
13. Wax figure of Adolf Hitler, a branch of Madame Tussauds in Berlin, Germany. On July 5, 2008, a few minutes after the opening of a new branch of Madame Tussauds in Berlin, one of the visitors tore off the head of a wax sculpture of Hitler. The police detained the criminal; he turned out to be a 41-year-old local resident. Museum workers chose to remove the figure from the exhibition.
14. Tony Siragusa with his wax double, February 3, 2011.
15. Bollywood actress Kareena Kapoor, left, with her wax replica at Madame Tussauds, Blackpool branch, UK, October 27, 2011.
16. Wax copy of Madonna at Madame Tussauds in London, April 25, 2008. The figure went through restoration, she was given a new hairstyle and new makeup, and also changed her clothes.
17. Wax figure of Michael Jackson, Madame Tussauds London, June 9, 2009.
18. American President Barack Obama and Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain at Madame Tussauds in London, March 31, 2009.
19. British singer Amy Winehouse, Madame Tussauds in central London, July 23, 2008.
20. A model poses next to a wax figure of Hollywood actor Johnny Depp at Madame Tussauds in Hong Kong on September 26, 2008.
21. Wax figure of Miley Cyrus, Madame Tussauds in New York, March 20, 2008.
22. Bullseye next to his wax copy, October 12, 2006. This is the first animal to be immortalized at Madame Tussauds.
– one of the most popular British museums, an exhibition of wax figures founded in the 19th century.
Among other wax figure exhibitions, Madame Tussauds stands out for its large number of exhibits and certain media promotion. The addition of new figures to the exhibition is often covered in the media and is considered a kind of recognition of the merits of the individual.
Story
The history of the creation of wax figures began long before the foundation of the exhibition or museum. Madame Tussaud, whose name was Marie Grosholtz before her marriage, was born in France in 1761. Then she and her family moved to Switzerland. Her mother got a job as a housekeeper for Dr. Phillip Curtis, who, among other things, specialized in creating wax models. Young Marie studied with the master and, at the age of 16, was able to completely independently create a figure of Voltaire.
Work with Curtis continued until his death in 1794. At this time, the future madame not only created wax doubles, but also removed death masks from the heads of victims of the French Revolution, which will play an important role in the popularity of the museum in the future. The teacher bequeathed all his created figures to Marie, and she and her extensive collection traveled throughout Europe with temporary exhibitions for several decades. Also in 1795, Marie married and took the surname Tussaud.
Marie herself also suffered during the revolution. Before she began, she was at the royal court and taught the sister of Louis XVI the art. The revolutionaries arrested Madame Tussaud and her mother, and she spent some time in prison. And it was the work of removing death masks from the heads of the nobles that allowed her to be released, as it became proof of loyalty for the revolutionaries.
In 1802, Marie Tussaud ended up in England, but was no longer able to return to mainland Europe, as the Napoleonic Wars began, affecting most of the countries. After a period of traveling around Great Britain and Ireland, Madame Tussauds, along with her family, settled in London and rented premises on the famous Baker Street. The first permanent exhibition opened here in 1836.
An important part of the exhibition was the “room of horrors”, which still exists today. It exhibited wax figures made on the basis of those very death masks collected during the revolution. It was this part of the museum that attracted a significant portion of visitors.
After Marie's death in 1850, her children continued to work on her work, and they also learned the art of creating wax sculptures. The permanent exhibition operated until 1883, when the grandson of Marie Tussaud, due to a number of factors (the modest size of the building, increased rent), decided to build his own premises on Marylebone Road, where the Tussauds Museum of London is now located.
This move brought a number of problems for the Tussaud family - the costs were too high and the business had to be sold, which was interspersed with financial squabbles between family members. Also in 1925, a fire destroyed almost the entire collection; fortunately, all the forms were preserved and the figures were quickly restored. Once again they had to be restored after being hit by an aerial bomb in 1940. Meanwhile, the popularity of wax figures only grew, Madame Tussauds London became one of the most popular in the whole of Great Britain and today there are already more than 20 branches around the world.
Tussauds London
Usually, when people talk about Madame Tussauds, they mean the main exhibition in London. Today, this museum is owned by the Merlin Entertainments group, which owns a number of other museums, entertainment venues and attractions, including the London Eye, Aquarium, Lego Park, etc. Madame Tussauds occupies a special place as it is one of the main attractions of London, with Since its opening, 500 million people have visited it.
There are about 400 wax figures on permanent display in London. Most of them are dedicated to musicians, movie stars, and politicians. Some of them refer to celebrities of the past. There are also figures dedicated to artistic characters, so the largest wax figure belongs to the Hulk, and the smallest to the fairy Tinker Bell. At the same time, some celebrities are presented precisely in the form of characters or their stage images, as an example - Johnny Depp, depicted as Captain Jack Sparrow. The figures do not remain in the museum forever; part of the exhibition is initially temporary, usually these are thematic exhibitions for the release of popular films, but other figures may be removed as visitors’ interest in them declines.
Madame Tussauds Wax Museum is very different from other similar exhibitions in its care for visitors. Most of the figures, except for especially valuable exhibits such as those that have survived from the time of Marie herself, are not fenced off from visitors. You can freely approach them, hug them, and take pictures.
Current exhibitions
Thematic exhibitions at Madame Tussauds London are constantly changing. But a number of themed rooms remain unchanged:
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Royal figures |
Of course, in Britain special attention is paid to its own monarchs. As already mentioned, the figure of the queen was remade 22 times, but besides her, other members of the royal family are also on display. |
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Representatives of culture |
Writers, artists, scientists of the past and present occupy an important place in the museum. Here you can see the figures of Einstein, Dickens, Van Gogh and many other people who contributed to the development of human culture. |
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World leaders |
The most influential rulers of both the present and the past are represented here. For example, Barack Obama and Putin, Churchill, Princess Diana, the Dalai Lama, etc. There was also a wax figure of Hitler, which will be discussed later. |
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Celebrities |
Musicians, athletes, film actors who have become famous throughout the world. Interestingly, few people are guaranteed a permanent place at Madame Tussauds. Of course, it is unlikely that the figures of the Beatles or Michael Jackson will be removed from here, but stars at the peak of their popularity after a while may no longer find their own wax doubles at the exhibition. |
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Movie characters |
The figures in this part of the museum are dedicated not to actors, but to films or characters that are either popular in our time or have made important contributions to the history of cinema. There is Marilyn Monroe in the image from the film “The Seven Year Itch”, and Captain Jack Sparrow, and purely cinematic characters - Shrek, E.T., Darth Vader. |
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Room of Horrors |
That scary twist that played an important role in the popularity of Tussauds. The figures depict executions, torture, and murder victims. To create some of the exhibits, real casts of severed heads that Marie took during the revolution in France are used. |
At the same time, the museum keeps up with the times and, depending on certain events and the popularity of franchises, temporary exhibitions are organized. One of the modern and progressive parts of the exhibition is dedicated to Youtube and its stars. Another part of the museum is themed with the Marvel characters that have taken over movie screens in the last few years, as well as a special area dedicated to the revived Star Wars franchise.
- The wax figure most attractive to women, according to workers, belongs to Justin Timberlake. He gets more hugs than any other exhibit. There is one problem with this for the museum: its image is complemented by a snow-white suit, which gets dirty very quickly.
- And among women, visitors consider Kylie Minogue the sexiest. In any case, her wax figure (already the 4th in the history of the museum) receives the most kisses.
- The total number of visitors over almost 200 years of operation of the museum was 500 million people. On average, this is about 3 million in one year.
- Some of the figures, as already mentioned in the note about Kylie Minogue, are being remade. This mainly applies to celebrities who have been at the peak of fame for a long time. But the record belongs to the Queen of Great Britain, who has been remade more than 20 times so that her appearance matches as closely as possible the current appearance of the Queen, who, unfortunately for the British, is definitely not getting any younger over the years.
- The oldest of the figures was created in the 18th century. She depicts the sleeping Countess DuBarry, lover and favorite of Louis XV. Interestingly, this wax figure also has mechanical parts.
- Some celebrities voluntarily donate personal items for the exhibition, but if we are talking about dead people, the museum tries to buy the necessary items at auctions.
- Celebrities often visit the museum and take pictures with their replicas. But in 2010, Ozzy Osbourne personally took the place of his figure (albeit at the New York branch) and scared unsuspecting guests who sat nearby for a photo.
Hitler figure
Madame Tussauds could not ignore the controversial personality of Hitler. This exhibit was not only popular for viewing by visitors, it was also the most frequently subject to vandalism and criticism. But the most curious incident occurred not in London, but in Berlin. In 2008, a visitor cut off the head of a Hitler figure. Although it turned out that he did this not because of political motives, but as a bet with a friend.
In London, another problem was connected with Hitler at Madame Tussauds. Many visitors, taking pictures with the exhibit, raised their hands in a Nazi salute. The administration had to take action against this after a number of publications in the media, warning visitors about the inadmissibility of such behavior.
But the story ended in January 2016. Scandals involving Nazi salutes among visitors allowed the Jewish community to collect enough signatures to convince the museum administration to completely remove the wax figure of Hitler from Madame Tussauds' exhibition in London. At the same time, in other branches of the museum, the Hitlers may be present among other world leaders.
Making wax figures
Decisions about the creation and inclusion of a figure in the Tussauds Museum exhibition are made at meetings of the management committee. After this, the craftsmen begin to work, about 20 people work on each figure for 4 months, and the final cost of the figure, taking into account all costs, is, on average, 150 thousand dollars.
Most of the celebrities whose figures appear at the exhibition take an active part in this. To ensure the accuracy of the image, casts and measurements are taken of faces and figures, and many people then donate items of personal clothing for their own copies, which adds even more authenticity to the exhibits.
Finished figures are serviced by a special team of workers. Every day, shortly before opening, each of the exhibited wax copies is checked, cleaned of dust, and makeup is corrected. Models also periodically wash their hair and wash their clothes.
Madame Tussauds museums around the world
The museum in London is the first, most famous and largest, but the network already has more than 20 branches around the world. Six museums operate in the USA, another 6 in Europe, 8 exhibitions under the Tussauds brand have already opened in Asia, and the last one is in Australia. Some exhibitions are closing, others are preparing to open, so their number is not constant, but in general it is growing from year to year.
