Since Marie Tussaud first exhibited her wax figures in London in 1802, hundreds of millions of people have visited the attractions that still bear the founder's name today.
They are located in London, Amsterdam, Berlin, Blackpool, Budapest, Istanbul, Prague, Vienna, Sydney, Dubai, Bangkok, Beijing, Chongqing, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore, Tokyo, Wuhan, Hollywood, Las Vegas, Nashville, New York and Orlando (as of 2024) The Vienna branch of Madame Tussauds was opened in 2011 as the eleventh attraction worldwide.
The fascination of the wax figures at Madame Tussauds lies in their lifelikeness - a characteristic that is due to the technique that Marie Tussauds learnt and perfected as a young girl. Her methods are still used to create heads, necks, chests and hands from 5 kilos of beeswax and colours with a secret recipe.
Even though the other body parts are produced using modern technologies: The method of wax processing has remained the same for 200 years! This is why it takes at least 140 hours just to insert real hair. Making a head and hands takes around 200 hours of labour.
There are whole sets of colour nuances and sizes to determine the eye colour. Sitting is the very beginning of a figure. It usually takes three hours. The personality to be ‘grown’ stands on a measuring plate and is photographed in hundreds of photos and - according to the founder's specifications - measured.
The value of a figurine is estimated at around 200,000 euros simply because of the high level of craftsmanship involved, but always also because of the first-class materials (beeswax, colour) and the fittings.
When Marie Tussaud, née Grosholtz (1761-1850) learnt the craft of ceroplasty as a 17-year-old girl in Bern from her employer, the physician Dr Philippe Curtius, it was in order to reproduce body parts in a world that was still photoless. In addition to wax organs, he also produced erotic miniatures, which sold well.
Marie followed her teacher and patron to France. There, at the age of 17, she modelled a life-size replica of Voltaire. Benjamin Franklin and Jean-Jaques Rousseau soon followed.
The beheaded victims of the French Revolution were still among her figures. These were exhibited in a separate cabinet, which was reported on in the English Punch Magazine in 1846. This aroused the curiosity of the general public. Maria Tussaud's grandson opened the wax museum in Marylebone Road in 1884. It burnt down in the 1920s and was rebuilt. A major setback was an attack on London in 1940. 352 heads and models were destroyed.
Madame Tussauds has also been operating outside England since 1972. The reason: local personalities should receive the same attention and immortality as their famous role models in London. In Vienna, for example, there are Bruno Kreisky, Dominic Thiem, Franz Klammer, Udo Jürgens, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Franz Josef and Empress Sisi.
But there is another explanation for the fascination with Madame Tussaud's figures: the technique, the care, the high art are immortal - today as they were 200 years ago. Even though only one wax figure from the hand of the great artist, entrepreneur and contemporary witness - that of her paternal patron Curtius - has survived, her way of telling stories and showing history lives on.