Wax figures of the Madame Tussauds Museum. Wax figures of celebrities

The Madame Tussauds Museum has long become for London the same business card as Big Ben, Tower or Trafalgar Square. His exhibits are the wax figures of celebrities from different eras. Here you can find sculptures of politicians, stars of show business, sportsmen and other people, famous for the whole world. Any tourist who finds himself in the British capital, includes this museum in the list of attractions that must be visited, because it can not only see the wax figures of their idols, but also touch them and even take a picture next to them for memory.

Museum in the UK capital and its branches

The wax figures of the Madame Tussauds Museum today are represented not only in London. The institution has its branches in different countries. Admire wax doubles celebrities can be in Berlin, Amsterdam, Tokyo, New York, Sydney and other cities. In total, the museum has 14 branches around the world. Since the moment when the talented woman-sculptor Maria Tussaud created her first wax creation, several centuries have passed, since then her institution has turned into a huge entertainment industry. Only its London branch annually visits 2.5 million tourists from all over the world.

Life of Mary in France

Maria Tussauds (before marriage, she bore the surname Grossholtz) was born in 1761 in Strasbourg. Her mother worked as a simple housekeeper in the house of Philip Curtis - a doctor who was engaged in the manufacture of wax models of famous people. It was he who became the first and only teacher for little Maria, who taught her art, which became the meaning of her life. In 1769, Curtis moved to Paris, taking with him the student and her mother. Here he organizes exhibitions of his works and receives orders for the manufacture of wax doubles of Louis XV, Marie Antoinette and other notable persons.

The first celebrity, whose image was the talented student of Dr. Curtis was captured in the wax, was Voltaire. This happened in 1777, when Mary turned 16 years old. Following him followed the sculptures of Rousseau and Franklin. The wax figures of Madame Tussaud were struck by their unusual resemblance to their originals, and the craftsman began to receive many profitable orders. The girl's talent was noticed by representatives of the royal family and she was invited to teach sculptural art to the members of the royal family. During the French Revolution, she was instructed to make posthumous masks of political and public figures sentenced to execution. After the death of Curtis (1794), his entire huge collection was transferred to Mary. The master began to replenish her and his creations.

Moving of Maria to London, the organization of a permanent exhibition

In 1802, Tussaud took wax sculptures of public figures and criminals to London. Because of the events of the Anglo-French war, she could not return to Paris and was forced to stay in England, moving with exhibits from one city to another. 1835 was a key year for Maria Tussaud, since it was then that she managed to open a permanent exhibition of her works on Baker Street. From this moment begins the history of the Museum of Wax figures, who glorified a talented woman to the whole world. At the exhibition, at first about 30 figures were presented, gradually it was replenished with new ones, among which were statues of Walter Scott, Admiral Nelson and other famous personalities. The lifespan of the sculptures presented in the museum did not exceed three years, so the old figures had to be replaced regularly with new ones. It was only after Tussaud's death in 1850 that her sons François and Joseph invented a new technology for fixing wax, which made it possible to make the figures more durable. The children and grandchildren of Mary became worthy followers of her cause. In 1884, the wax figures of the Madame Tussauds Museum changed their address after moving to Marylebone Road. This is where the institution is and now, hospitably welcoming its visitors.

Features of manufacturing wax figures

Today, about 4 months work on the creation of one sculpture of the Madame Tussauds. Over each figure is a professional team consisting of two dozen people. Making a wax double of a famous person is like a jeweler's job. Before making a statue, the museum staff conduct several hundred measurements, in order to accurately recreate the figure and facial features of the celebrity. The choice of color to create a natural shade of the skin of the star and the formation of its hair is no less laborious work that requires a lot of time. The result of such work turns out to be stunning: the sculpture of the celebrity is so plausible that it is not everyone who is able to distinguish where the copy is, and where the original is.

Exhibits of the modern London museum

Wax figures of the Madame Tussauds Museum are more than 1000 exhibits, accurately depicting famous people of different eras. All the members of the British royal family, presidents of the world's leading countries, writers, scientists, military leaders, actors, singers, musicians, etc. are represented in the exhibition halls of the museum. Any celebrity honors for his honor to get his double in the museum, because it indicates its popularity and Public recognition. Here under one roof you can see Princess Diana, the young Beatles, Marilyn Monroe, Michael Jackson, Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, Britney Spears, Gerard Depardieu, Nicole Kidman, Johnny Depp, David Beckham, Boris Yeltsin, Vladimir Putin and many other famous of people. Some figures move and even talk. In one of the rooms modestly stands a small old woman from wax, dressed in a black outfit. This is Maria Tussauds. It is as if she observes from the depths of centuries behind the huge wax empire that she created.

"Chamber of Horrors"

Not only stars are represented in the museum. There is an exhibition hall in the institution designed for people with a strong psyche. He is called "Chamber of Horrors". Here are collected wax figures of serial killers, maniacs hanging on the gallows of criminals. The collection is complemented by severed heads and instruments of torture. In the same room you can contemplate the death masks of representatives of the French royal family, made by Maria Tussaud herself. The whole hall casts horror on the visitors, so it is forbidden to enter children, pregnant women and people with weak health and unstable mentality.

Today it is difficult to meet a traveler who visited London and did not see the wax figures of the Madame Tussauds Museum. A photo with doubles of its idols is a pride of any tourist. They are usually bragged about, like the pictures on the background of the Eiffel Tower or the Egyptian pyramids. You can visit the museum on weekdays from 9.30 to 15.30. On holidays and weekends, the exhibition halls of the institution are open to guests until 18.00.