Wax museum

A wax museum is an exhibition in which mostly life-size figures, modeled from wax , are exhibited. Usually these are famous personalities from the present and history. Often the figures are also part of scenery.

history

Panoptikum in Hamburg , Germany's oldest wax museum

In the 19th century, before the cinema began its triumphant advance, wax figure cabinets were a popular entertainment option. As with other show booths of the time, there were permanently installed cabinets, as well as so-called “traveling cabinets” that moved from place to place. Castan's Panoptikum in Berlin was one of the well-known German cabinets of the late 19th century, with branches in other cities. The 1879 in Hamburg-St. Pauli founded Panoptikum in its form of representation (on a smaller area and less technical staging) as well as its location on Spielbudenplatz , which refers to the booths built here for the showmen, can best be compared with these early cabinets. It was not unusual for an exhibition employee to give explanations of the celebrities and scenes depicted in guided tours.

Some cabinets are and were specialized in particular topics, e.g. B. Horror cabinets that could be seen at fairs. Not all wax museum rooms are for entertainment. Some are also z. B. used for scientific purposes. A famous medical cabinet has existed in Florence for more than 200 years .

The wax figures are very sensitive, which is why more robust materials such as silicone rubber are sometimes used. The Plastination allows even today to preserve organic tissue permanently and thus make exhibition capable, but such exhibitions of corpses highly controversial.

present

Cabinets that want to survive in the age of modern high-tech entertainment depend on being guided by current trends. The most famous wax museum in the world is now Madame Tussauds in London. Madame Tussauds expanded as Tussauds Group with various branches around the world and is now part of the Merlin Entertainments Group, a global amusement park group. The cabinet in London has been expanded and technically upgraded again and again, for example, gondolas modeled on London taxis take you through the Spirit of London exhibition . However, some innovations have met with criticism. In 2004 there were considerable disputes about the representation of the Holy Family by the family of David and Victoria Beckham at Madame Tussauds, which is rejected by some Christian circles. The installation of an Adolf Hitler wax figure at Madame Tussaud in Berlin, where a visitor tore off the figure's head , was also heavily criticized .

In culture

Wax figures have been popular objects in novels and films, because you can play with the resemblance to real people. In “ The Man with the Golden Gun ” from 1974, for example, a wax figure of the main character James Bond appears on the training course of a professional killer.

Perhaps the best-known film depiction of a wax museum comes from 1953. In the horror film " Professor Bondi's Cabinet ", Vincent Price plays a figurine maker who, after an accident, can no longer make real figurines, but rather covers human corpses with wax.