Philippe Curtius

Philippe Curtius was a Swiss physician and wax modeller who worked in Paris and became the teacher and guardian of Marie Tussaud. His wax portraits and public exhibitions included fashionable figures and criminals, helping establish the collection that Tussaud later took to Britain.

Philippe Curtius was born in Stockach and died in Ivry-sur-Seine. Curtius established popular wax exhibitions in Paris and trained the young Marie Grosholtz, later Marie Tussaud, in modelling; on his death he left her his collection, which became the basis of her later touring exhibition in Britain.

In Michelle Moran’s Madame Tussaud, Marie Grosholtz has mastered wax modelling in the Salon de Cire established by Philippe Curtius, where portraits of royalty, philosophers and political celebrities turn current events into public spectacle.