The French love art in all forms. To say that France is one of the seats of art would not be far-fetched. Paris is a city that takes pride in housing some of the greatest works of art and the Parisian love for art is evident in the umpteen museums scattered around the city.

Musée de l’Orangerie des Tuileries houses the works of some of the world’s greatest artists like Cézanne, Derain, Monet, Renoir, Rousseau, Soutine, Matisse, Modigliani and Picasso. In the vast galleries of Louvre stand the awe inspiring art pieces including the famous Mona Lisa by Leonardo Da Vinci. Originally built in the 12th century as a royal fortress and palace for Philip II, the Louvre evolved into an immense complex of buildings erected over a span of four centuries, and is now one the world’s greatest art museums. Even a full week’s tour would not be enough to do justice to its daunting collection of masterpieces.

The Musée d’Orsay is a spectacular museum that houses paintings and sculpture from the period between 1848 and 1914. Canvases by Manet and Impressionist masterpieces from Degas, van Gogh, Monet, Pisarro and Renoir are housed here, as are Rodin sculptures.

The Musée National Picasso contains a matchless collection of paintings of Picasso’s while Musée Rodin is renowned for its priceless collection of Rodin’s works.

One could go on and on about the museums and art collections of Paris. Along with these museums there is another world famous museum which is quite different from any other and is renowned for its wax models. It is to this museum that I headed one fine April morning.

Located on the famous Grand Boulevards of Paris the Museé Grévin is an interesting place with ornate décor. Its architecture and design attract as much attention as the collection housed within its walls. With its gilded interiors and pillars, it looked like a structure straight out of ancient French picture books.
Most of the original décor is still the same as the one designed by the architect Eugène Emile Esnault-Pelterie in 1882. He used a subtle fusion of Louis XIV and Venetian Rococo styles and blended it flawlessly with marble and rosewood. The result was a fantastic hall with columns and cupolas. Even the beautiful marble staircase designed by the architect Rives remains the same.

It was in 1882 that a journalist called Arthur Meyer came up with the idea of creating life size, three dimensional replicas of the famous personalities. In the beginning it was people who made it to the headlines in a newspaper called ‘Le Gaulois’ but today it showcases wax statues of globally renowned personalities. Over 300 politicians, film stars, sports people, filmmakers, historical icons, rub shoulders in the house of wax. Shah Rukh has the honor of being the only Indian apart from Mahatma Gandhi to make it to Museé Grévin.

All along the halls, real and wax people merged with each other confounding me. Charlie Chaplin, Marilyn Monroe, a scene from Gone with the Wind, Arnold Schwachnegger, and Julia Roberts stood rooted in various parts of the museum alongside Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Teresa, and Napoleon. Albert Einstein, Pope John Paul-II, Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson stand in different parts of museum.

On one side stood tableaux of Napoleon’s entire family and on another the dramatic scenes from the 1789 French Revolution. The 450 figures of the Museum are arranged in about 50 scenes bringing to life the highlights of French history.

As I climbed up a marble staircase, I found myself in a hall called the Palais des Mirages (room of mirrors). It is a hexagonal room where special effects have been created with the lights and multiple reflections from the mirrors that go from floor to ceiling and completely surround a visitor transporting one to the world of illusions. The enchanting son-et-lumière show at the Palais des Mirages has held visitors captivated for hours in the museum.
The museum just doesn’t house wax replicas, it provides entertainment to its visitors. Often, visitors are shocked to find one of the wax replicas suddenly starts moving. It is just an actor disguised as a wax model. Museé Grévin also conducts conjuring and mime acts in the museum’s lovely theatre. 
Some of the wax tableaux:

Meeting at the Golden Flag Camp in 1520: This tableau depicts the time during the war in Italy when François I, The King of France, anxious to win an ally against Charles the Fifth organised a lavish encounter near Calais with Henry VIII, King of England.

Assassination of Marat: In this tableau events on July 13, 1793 are depicted when Charlotte Corday, infuriated by the excesses of the Terror, stabs the hero of the Sans-Culottes in his bath-tub. The bath-tub on display is an authentic witness to the drama.

Inauguration of the Suez Canal: In 1869, Ferdinand de Lesseps, the French engineer who constructed the canal linking the Red Sea with the Mediterranean, paid his respects to Empress Eugenie while the ship ‘L’Aigle’ started its maiden voyage. All this is reconstructed in wax.