Born in 1761 as Marie Grosholtz, Madame Tussaud's name is now inextricably linked with what she was instrumental in popularizing: The Wax Museum. Trained as a sculptor in wax from a young age, Marie Tussaud lived during some very interesting times. She learned the art of wax from Dr. Philippe Curtius, the man who her mother worked for as a housekeeper. He used wax as a way to illustrate anatomy, and later made money making lifelike portraits for clients. Seeing her talent as an assistant, he hired her to work as an artist. She created portraits of famous personages of the time, including Benjamin Franklin and Voltaire.
Curtius established a gallery of sorts for these wax replicas, and Marie became very popular with the royal family. Of course when the French Revolution and subsequent Reign of Terror came, this association was less than helpful. Spared from the guillotine, she made wax death masks of the executed monarchists. Marie married François Tussaud and would come to inherit Curtius' collection of wax portraits before the family moved to England. It was here that she established her permanent gallery of wax after years of traveling exhibitions. Her son (also named François) and family would continue in her footsteps and carry the art of wax sculpture into the modern age.
In a time before TMZ, her artwork was a bit of a three dimensional tabloid, a way for the masses to see the royal family or gruesome sights (the famous Chamber of Horrors) with their own eyes.
It also inspired one of my favorite Vincent Price 3d schlockfests: The House of Wax
On to the Notes!
Easter Quest arrives
Second week of 1.5x EXP arrives
New Easter Lucky Box arrives
Spotlight monsters will properly have their doubled exp
Turn Ins: