Madame Tussauds – A world of wax

Madame Tussauds is a wax museum based in London and currently has branches in several major cities.

The eponymous Madame Tussaud (1761–1850) was born Marie Grosholtz, in France. She learnt the art of wax modelling from her mother’s employer, Dr Curtius, an expert in wax modelling himself.

The first statue Madame Tussaud designed was that of the French philosopher Voltaire, in the year 1777. Her collection comprised of around 400 wax figures, most of which were destroyed during the German bombings in 1925. She had to begin again with what was left. Today, the museum has a huge collection, some of which were designed by Madame Tussaud herself. The oldest wax figure on display is that of Madame du Barry, a Frenchwoman.

The first Indian to have a statue at Madame Tussauds was Ms Indira Gandhi, former Prime Minister of India. Since then, several Indian celebrities and personalities have been added to the list, such as the current Indian Prime Minister, Mr Narendra Modi.

Madame Tussauds is likely to have its first Indian branch, in New Delhi, in the year 2017.