Madame Tussauds - a touch of history and modern realities

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

The most famous wax museum is located in London, or rather, the main exposition is located in the capital of England, and numerous branches are scattered around the globe. Masterpiece wax exhibits have been made for over 150 years by twenty professional sculptors. But few know about the museum's founder, Marie Tussaud, who needs to be mentioned separately.

Fateful Acquaintance

Madame Tussauds (Grosholts) was born in 1761 in Strasbourg. Her mother got a job with Dr. Curtius after the death of her husband, the girl's father. As it turned out, this meeting will be fateful for the future founder of an unusual museum, who has absorbed the secrets of the old doctor's hobby. Curtius was engaged in the creation of anatomically correct wax models of people. Seeing extraordinary abilities in the girl, the doctor shared with her the basics of unusual and uncommon art.

Maria creates her first works - the figures of W alter and Jean-Jacques Rousseau - at the age of 17. Curtius arranges an exhibition of wax works in Paris, which had no analogues at that time. The full-length figures unveiled to the public were astounding with their meticulously recreated images.

Revolution and arrest

During the revolution that began in Paris, Maria is arrested and awaits execution in prison. The woman is saved by her skill in creating real wax figures, and after her release, she makes death masks of Robespierre and the royal family, decapitated during the execution. Returning to the house of Dr. Curtius, Maria learns that the deceased master has bequeathed his collection of wax figures to her.

The beginning of the history of the most popular museum

Madame Tussauds, who married an engineer, continues to do what she loves, and her popularity is only growing. Realizing that family life is not working out, Maria leaves for England with a huge collection.

And since 1835 the countdown of the history of one of the most unusual museums in the world begins. Having lived a long life, the greatest sculptor created many beautifully executed figures, which still amaze with their resemblance to real people and the smallest elaborate details.

English Landmark

Located near Trafalgar Square, Madame Tussauds, the photo of which is presented in the article, stores more than a thousand wax works depicting famous personalities from various eras.

At the entrance of eachthe visitor is greeted by a sculpture of a short elderly woman dressed in a black dress - the owner of the museum, who smiles affably at everyone who comes to her possessions. Madame Tussauds, a photo with which (and not only with her) can be taken for free, has become a real London legend, and the expositions, which sometimes caused a scandal with controversial characters, have long been recognized as English landmarks.

After the death of their mother, the sons of the founder of the museum invented a special way of fixing wax, which allowed the created figures to be stored for a long time, since before that the figures made by hard work had not lived for more than three years.

"Live" figures

The exhibits presented in the museum are always up-to-date and reflect the latest events taking place in the world.

Madame Tussauds Museum, whose photo does not convey a special atmosphere, because many figures not only look alive, but move around the hall and even talk, more than 2.5 million tourists visit every year. Surprisingly, there are no barriers in the halls, and everyone can take pictures together with their favorite character and even hug.

Popular expositions

Even during the life of Madame Tussauds, the historical figures of Napoleon and his wife, with whom Mary languished in prison, were assigned two halls. In addition to stunning sculptures, the audience will see the personal belongings of Bonaparte.

And of course, a separate room is dedicated to the royal family, which exhibits wax figures of Elizabeth II, the young princes of the English crown Harry and William, Kate Middleton and the British favorite Princess Diana.

Ambiguous heroes of the museum

To be fair, it must be said that not all figures of Madame Tussauds evoke positive emotions among visitors. A photo with Hitler, which many tourists take, is perceived by the rest as a personal insult. His wax model was repeatedly vandalized, even torn off by spectators imbued with hatred of fascism, but after the restoration, the museum management did not consider it necessary to remove the ambiguous character.

A touch of history

Wax versions of famous and controversial heroes of different eras have long ceased to be a common entertainment, now it is an excellent source of information, giving a unique opportunity to see the legendary personalities in detail. And we must pay tribute to Madame Tussauds for bringing to life an original idea that allowed contemporaries to touch history.