You do not have to live in London to understand what Baker Street is. Ask anyone you meet, and with a high probability they will answer you that this is the home street of the glorious detective Sherlock Holmes. Despite the fact that this is a fictional character, the city authorities specifically allocated a room on Baker Street, which was arranged in the form of a museum dedicated to the personality of the detective. But it is worth walking from this place just around the corner, and you will find yourself on the very remarkable street of Marybon Road.
Not far from the planetarium is another no less popular and interesting museum. It is distinguished by its large green domed roof and is one of the most famous museums in the world. Moreover, it is one of the oldest, because it was founded in 1835. This, of course, is the wax museum of Madame Maria Tussauds.
Memory of yourself
Among a wide variety of celebrities who were immortalized during his life or posthumously, you can meet the figure and Madame herself. She made it herself. Maria Tussauds looks very simple and modest: a simple old woman in a black dress and no less gloomy hat. The artist made her wax self-portrait at the age of 81. Of course, she could make a figure of herself in a younger version when she was attractive. Nevertheless, she wanted to be remembered by people the way she became at the time of her greatest glory and wealth. She was able to succeed precisely on the slope of her life.
Dark heritage
A large number of people heard about the Maria Tussauds museum, nevertheless, the features of her life were always somewhat hidden and not widespread. Her real name is Grosholtz. She is a descendant of the old dynasty of executioners Grosholtz. But her father had already moved away from family business, choosing a more humane business. Johann Joseph was engaged in the manufacture of prints, but he died before her birth. Nevertheless, it was such a “dark heritage” that left an imprint on her entire work.
It is not surprising that visiting a museum in London, one can see such gloomy expositions as the “Torture Chamber”, which is full of numerous sculptures of killers, their victims, terrifying by their realism, as well as executioners with their devices.
The beginning of life
The story of Maria Tussauds begins in Germany, where she was born in December 1761. Her uncle Philippe Curtius was involved in her education in connection with the death of her father. He worked as a doctor, and very successful and in demand. Nevertheless, his true vocation was the creation of miniatures from enamel, as well as anatomical wax figures. It was with Uncle Anna Maria Tussauds that she studied all the techniques and secrets, revealing her talent.
In 1767, Philip with his niece went to Paris. There they began to call him Kurt, and he very quickly gained fame and recognition due to the quality of work. His very first work was the figure of Marie Dubari, who was the mistress of King Louis XV.
Debut work
Maria Tussauds at first was only selling tickets, attracting guests to the gallery of his uncle. As an independent master, she made her debut, making three amazing figures - Voltaire, Franklin and Russo. The talent of young talent did not go unnoticed. Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette invited her to Versailles. There she worked for 10 years, constantly improving her outstanding talent. Many artists could only dream of such a combination of circumstances.
Time of Troubles
Nevertheless, the biography of Madame Tussauds was not so happy and carefree. The revolution began, and everything changed in her life. The royal family, its benefactors were sent to the guillotine and lost their heads. It is known about Madame Tussauds that she was considered a “royalist” and sent to prison.
Together with her in the dungeons was Josephine Beauharnais. In the future, she will become Napoleon's mistress and empress of France. Both women were already shaved for the guillotine, but at the very last moment they decided to have mercy. The sculptor’s new political power demanded to prove her loyalty - she had to make the death masks of the royal couple, which at one time helped the girl so much. She was sent to a landfill to search for the heads of the king and queen. To put it mildly, the process of such a search was not pleasant.
Return to work
After such an action, the government no longer bothered Maria Tussauds, so she was able to return to her beloved job. There was a lot of wax, but she always lacked hair for her figures. But Maria already knew a way out of this situation. She asked for a pass to the prison, in the cellars of which the severed heads of the executed were stacked. It was the hair from these heads that she decided to use for her own purposes. Obtaining such permission was a very difficult task, but her maiden name Grossholtz helped her. She was perceived as the heiress of the famous executioners, so the “colleagues” respected her requests.
Marriage
At that time, Maria had not yet received the name of Tussauds. Only in 1795 she married engineer Francois Tussauds. Nevertheless, the newly made Maria Tussauds was not happy in her marriage. After eight years of married life, they decided to divorce. Francois leaves his wife with two sons, as well as with a surname that she will glorify for centuries.
After the death of Uncle Philip in 1794, Maria inherited his entire collection of works and continued his work. France is not becoming the most favorable place to live: constant conflict, war and worry. Madame Tussauds decides to move to England, shortly before that, having finished the sculpture of Napoleon. It is worth noting that the figure has much outlived its original and is still located inside the London Museum, being the most valuable exhibit.
British stage of life
For 33 years, Madame Tussauds' traveling collection has been traveling across the British Isles, constantly replenished with new exhibits. In addition to representatives of the English elite and historical figures, the artist is creating a gallery of criminals. She is friends with John Williams, the executioner in Edinburgh, so she has unhindered access to the inside of the prison. There she was engaged in obtaining casts from persons executed, and with some of the prisoners she took casts while they were still alive.
Sedentary life
Only in 1835, the sculptor decided to settle on Baker Street. Here she bought herself an attractive mansion and placed all the exhibits inside its halls. From that moment on, the countdown for her museum officially began, although it is obvious that it existed long before that. The story of Madame Tussauds ended at the age of 89. With her death, the management of the museum was taken up by her sons, Francis and Joseph. Photos of Maria Tussauds almost did not survive, but her self-portrait allows you to clearly know everything about her appearance in recent years.
Until 2007, the museum was owned by the Tussauds Group. But the owners could not resist the proposed $ 2 billion and part of the shares of the megacorporation, so they decided to sell the legacy of the American company Blackstone. They are also owners of Legoland Entertainment Parks.
The popularity of the museum for centuries
The museum has become famous throughout the world. Over the entire period of its existence, over 500 million people have visited it. Nowadays, about 14 million tourists visit London and other world branches every year.
The oldest exhibit in the collection is Madame Dubari. This is a figure that was made by Philip Curtius. The museum is characterized by the presence of more than 1000 different wax figures that depict popular and influential personalities of the world. Each year, the collection expands by approximately 20 exhibits. It takes from two months to six months to produce one figure. Sometimes it takes a lot more time. A lot depends on the posture and the number of open areas of the body of the figure.
Most of the sculptures were made on the basis of living originals. When taking measurements, it was necessary to make over 150 different measurements. Moreover, exhibits need constant care. Hairstyles for dolls are periodically styled, corrected by a team of professional hairdressers. To completely change the hairstyle for exhibits, you need to spend up to 1, 000 pounds and 2 to 5 weeks.
Contemporary exhibits
Life is constantly moving forward. Some figures lose their relevance and are removed to the warehouse, and new ones are put in their place. For example, Boris Yeltsin has already been removed, but the wax version of Putin is still considered one of the most popular among politicians. This place is a museum only in its name. We can say that this is a real board of honor, a unique mausoleum, you can get to it only thanks to your merits or great fame.
Most importantly, time has practically stopped here. Forever young “Beatles” are lit together, the beautiful Marilyn Monroe dazzles with her smile. Elvis Presley is young and beautiful, and Michael Jackson froze in the last step of his "moonwalk". He is also the champion in the number of figures. The museum has 14 versions of Michael Jackson.
