You've probably heard of the Madame Tussaud's wax museum, but do you know who Madame Tussaud really was? Born as Mary Grossholz in France in 1761, at the age of only 6, she discovered the art of making wax figures. Her mother was a housekeeper with Dr. Filip Curtis, who was also a famous modeller. He taught Mary how to make a wax figure, and at the age of only 17, she made her first figure herself, which attracted the attention of the French authorities.
During the French Revolution, Mary was arrested for her sympathies with the royal family. Fortunately, Dr. Curtis, with the help of his connections, managed to get her out of prison with the promise that Mary would make death masks for people guillotined by revolutionaries. Among them were King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. The masks were worn through Paris to let the public know who was killed and to avoid wearing a guillotine head in a state of disintegration around the city.
In these difficult times, Mary hardened and grew into a determined and strong woman. Old Dr. Curtis recognized that, too, so he bequeathed all his wax figures to this modest girl.
Mary marries engineer Francois Tussaud i1802. year with his unusual heritage goes to England where he exhibits for the first time hitherto unimaginable exhibits. The Franco-English war prevented her from returning to France, so in the following years she traveled all over Britain, exposing her
Her son Josef soon became her greatest collaborator. The first permanent exhibition of Madame Tussaud's wax figures was held in Baker Street in London in 1835. There was also, at that time the most controversial, the Hall of Fear, in which, in addition to the famous serial killers and torturers, Mary also placed masks of people she was forced to work during the French Revolution.
In 1838, Mary Tussaud wrote a memoir. The last figure she made was her own. She made it in 1842 and left it in the museum to take care of her sons. She died at the age of April 16, 1850, at the age of 88, leaving behind an entertainment empire that still operates with undiminished.
Today, the Madame Tussaud's is one of the biggest tourist attractions in London, and it also has branches in Amsterdam, Hong Kong, Las Vegas and New York. Historical and royal personalities, film, music and sports stars, but also famous murderers have their wax figures.
This is so interesting and very good from you writing about wax museum and it's creator. Mary was real talented and she has luck not to be murdered by French revolution. These masks are so real and museum Madam Tussaud is visited by a lot of visitors every year.