The Musée Grévin - the Paris wax museum (by K2):
May 6, 2014 20:28:40 GMT
Post by Deleted on May 6, 2014 20:28:40 GMT
Normally, I would put a museum visit on the Maritime Museum branch, but I don't consider wax museums to be "real" museums but "attractions" instead. It's not entirely true since all such places have huge collections of authentic historical items (clothing, accessories, murder weapons...), but that is not why people go there.
Nevertheless the Musée Grévin has a long and interesting history, even if Madame Tussaud opened the first such establishment. Waxworks go back a long time, since it was common (and almost obligatory) to make death masks of kings and queens up until the 17th century. In the 18th century, the first public displays were created. A huge scene of the "Royal Court in Versailles" was made by a waxworker, assisted by his young niece Marie Tussaud. She must have been a real piece of work, because during the French Revolution, she took charge of making the death masks of Marat, Robespierre and the dead king and queen. When her uncle/associate died, she moved to London in 1795 and the rest is history.
It wasn't until the 19th century that wax museums became popular in Paris, but none of them managed to stay open for long. Finally, a newspaper owner decided that he need to display more visuals of his news items, so he commissioned Alfred Grévin to start sculpting some stuff to show. Grévin was a sculptor, theatrical costume designer and also a caricaturist for the newspaper in question. And so the museum finally opened in 1882. It was a smash success. One year later, the owner of the same company that would later operate the Eiffel Tower took over, and that company ran the Musée Grévin until 1999.
The Musée Grévin also contains a theatre and the very first cartoon in history was projected there in 1892. When I was a little boy, there was a short magic show in the theatre every half hour or so, and I think it is probably the first and only magic show that I ever saw. In later years, the theatre was used for all sorts of performances in the evening after the museum was closed, but that ended on December 31, 2000. There is another "attraction" Inside the Musée Grévin -- the Palais des Mirages, which was one of the attractions from the World's Fair in 1900. It was moved from the Trocadéro Palace to the Musée Grévin after the World's Fair ended, and 114 years later, it still remains the favourite moment for many visitors. Obviously, it has been updated a bit with new lighting and a few other effects, but most of it is the very same thing that amazed people in 1900.
So, I went there this morning to put an end to a bit of frustration. I took my mother there about 8 years ago when she could still get around, but Dr. Alzheimer already prevented her from appreciating anything. "What are we doing here? Can we leave now?" -- etc. So I basically just rushed through the place without being able to see anything. Obviously, I had been there as a child, but there was a total renovation in 2001 which changed just about everything.
Before you enter the museum itself, you must now visit the Palais des Mirages. So what is this place? It is an octagonal or perhaps decagonal chamber with mirrors on all sides rising to a very high ceiling. At each mrror angle, there are statues and various other decor which are repeated to infinity because of the mirrors. Once everybody has entered the chamber, it all goes dark, and then the music and lighting effects begin. First there is an Arabian style temple, and then it goes dark again. The angular items pivot in the dark, things come down from the ceiling and when the lights come on again, you are in an infinite jungle with all of the animal sounds, filmy clouds above and thunder and lightning, until things calm down and luminous butterflies drop from the ceiling. The third tableau is a Hindu temple with ornate lamps descending from the ceiling and luscious statues of generously formed temple women in every angle. The whole show lasts no more than 10 minutes before the crowd is released into the museum. It is really impossible to photograph, although I tried just a bit, to the horror of some of the visiting tourists. That's because the French announcement said "no flash photography" but the English announcement said "no photography." Anyway, the spectators in 1900 must have just about peed their pants seeing this in 1900, because I know that as a little boy, I felt the same way.
Nevertheless the Musée Grévin has a long and interesting history, even if Madame Tussaud opened the first such establishment. Waxworks go back a long time, since it was common (and almost obligatory) to make death masks of kings and queens up until the 17th century. In the 18th century, the first public displays were created. A huge scene of the "Royal Court in Versailles" was made by a waxworker, assisted by his young niece Marie Tussaud. She must have been a real piece of work, because during the French Revolution, she took charge of making the death masks of Marat, Robespierre and the dead king and queen. When her uncle/associate died, she moved to London in 1795 and the rest is history.
It wasn't until the 19th century that wax museums became popular in Paris, but none of them managed to stay open for long. Finally, a newspaper owner decided that he need to display more visuals of his news items, so he commissioned Alfred Grévin to start sculpting some stuff to show. Grévin was a sculptor, theatrical costume designer and also a caricaturist for the newspaper in question. And so the museum finally opened in 1882. It was a smash success. One year later, the owner of the same company that would later operate the Eiffel Tower took over, and that company ran the Musée Grévin until 1999.
The Musée Grévin also contains a theatre and the very first cartoon in history was projected there in 1892. When I was a little boy, there was a short magic show in the theatre every half hour or so, and I think it is probably the first and only magic show that I ever saw. In later years, the theatre was used for all sorts of performances in the evening after the museum was closed, but that ended on December 31, 2000. There is another "attraction" Inside the Musée Grévin -- the Palais des Mirages, which was one of the attractions from the World's Fair in 1900. It was moved from the Trocadéro Palace to the Musée Grévin after the World's Fair ended, and 114 years later, it still remains the favourite moment for many visitors. Obviously, it has been updated a bit with new lighting and a few other effects, but most of it is the very same thing that amazed people in 1900.
So, I went there this morning to put an end to a bit of frustration. I took my mother there about 8 years ago when she could still get around, but Dr. Alzheimer already prevented her from appreciating anything. "What are we doing here? Can we leave now?" -- etc. So I basically just rushed through the place without being able to see anything. Obviously, I had been there as a child, but there was a total renovation in 2001 which changed just about everything.
The entrance has always been extravagant, to make sure that people know that this is no ordinary thing to see.
There are now a few mysterious corridors and stairways to follow without knowing exactly where you will arrive.
The interior is really quite opulent.
There are now a few mysterious corridors and stairways to follow without knowing exactly where you will arrive.
The interior is really quite opulent.
Before you enter the museum itself, you must now visit the Palais des Mirages. So what is this place? It is an octagonal or perhaps decagonal chamber with mirrors on all sides rising to a very high ceiling. At each mrror angle, there are statues and various other decor which are repeated to infinity because of the mirrors. Once everybody has entered the chamber, it all goes dark, and then the music and lighting effects begin. First there is an Arabian style temple, and then it goes dark again. The angular items pivot in the dark, things come down from the ceiling and when the lights come on again, you are in an infinite jungle with all of the animal sounds, filmy clouds above and thunder and lightning, until things calm down and luminous butterflies drop from the ceiling. The third tableau is a Hindu temple with ornate lamps descending from the ceiling and luscious statues of generously formed temple women in every angle. The whole show lasts no more than 10 minutes before the crowd is released into the museum. It is really impossible to photograph, although I tried just a bit, to the horror of some of the visiting tourists. That's because the French announcement said "no flash photography" but the English announcement said "no photography." Anyway, the spectators in 1900 must have just about peed their pants seeing this in 1900, because I know that as a little boy, I felt the same way.
