Philippe Curtius Philippe Curtius Philippe Curtius (1737–1794) was a Swiss physician and wax modeller who taught Marie Tussaud the art of wax modelling. Marie Grosholtz, the future Marie Tussaud, lived in the Berne home of Curtius, for whom her mother acted as housekeeper. Marie called him 'Uncle', and in many ways he was a father figure. Curtius used his skill in wax modelling to illustrate anatomy as a physician, and sometimes for the entertainment of visitors. Later, he started to do portraits. Curtius created beautiful anatomical wax models that were admired by the Prince de Conti. In 1765, Curtius was persuaded to
Marie-Cécile Zinsou Marie-Cécile Zinsou Marie-Cécile Zinsou (born 1982) is a French-Beninese art historian and entrepreneur, She is president of the Fondation Zinsou, founded in 2005 in Cotonou, Republic of Benin, West Africa, which promotes contemporary art in Africa and leads cultural, educational and social initiatives. In 2014 she opened the first museum of contemporary art in Benin. Marie-Cécile Zinsou was born in Paris in 1982 and grew up in France and England. She comes from a family of Beninese politicians and intellectuals and has dual French and Beninese nationality. Her father is Lionel Zinsou, an economist, who after years working in France