César Baldaccini Sculptures

"Compression de canettes", is an iconic piece by César Baldaccini (1921–1998), a leading figure of the Nouveau Réalisme movement. Known simply as César, he revolutionized sculpture b...

Napoléon. (Epruve d’artiste EA 1/2) Bocquel fondeur. Acquired directly from the artist. Signed by the artist. César Baldaccini (1921 – 1998) is one of the great sculptors of the twentieth century. As a young man he took a stand for art that was firmly anchored in reality, as a counterweight to the lyrical, abstract painting of the time. He has transformed rusty bolts, screws, scrap metal and steel wire into biomorphic sculptures depicting everything from chickens on roller skates to self-portraits of the artist. In his magical hands, metal from the junk-heap, old car parts, discarded cans and plexiglass have been compacted into delightful cubistic works of art that César himself has called “compressions”. As a kind of antithesis to these, he experimented by expanding plastics, glass, aluminium and bronze into voluptuously inflated forms known as “expansions”. Among César’s casts of sculpted breasts, female torsos and clenched fists, it is the thumb that, above all else, has emerged as the artist’s hallmark – his own, greatly enlarged thumb in bronze. Exhibited for the first time at the Galerie Claude Bernard in Paris in 1965, today you can see it – in bronze or marble – in museums and public places all over the world. His largest bronze thumb, measuring fully 12 metres in height, stands in La Défense in Paris. In similar fashion, the artist’s signature is always accompanied by his thumb print. Born in Marseilles in 1921, by the age of 12 César had already left school to work in his father’s wine merchants business. In 1935, however, he enrolled at the École des Beaux Arts in Marseilles. He continued his art studies in 1943 at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux Arts in Paris, sharing a house for some time with Alberto Giacometti. In 1960 he was invited to join the group of artists known as “les Nouveaux Réalistes”, where he worked together with Arman, Pierre Restany, Niki de Saint Phalle, Jean Tinguely and others. César’s genius lies in his ability to coax artistic forms from whatever materials may be at hand. “When I was a child,” he recalled, “I used to think that a sculptor was a man who chipped away at stone with a hammer and chisel. It was only later that I understood you can make sculptures from any material you choose.” In the early 1940s César discovered the opportunities that scrap metal opened up, and his first solo exhibition, “Animaux en ferraille” (or “Scrap metal animals”), was held at the Galerie Lucien Durand...

1989 Baccarat Crystal. Signed and numbered at the base. Work accompanied by its certificate issued by the Compagnie des Cristalleries Baccarat. Work registered at the Denyse Durand-Ruel Archives under No. 3984. César, French sculpture and member of the "Nouveau Réalisme" movement, is best known for his use of compressed cars and recycled metals. Although his work shows similarities to artists like Andy Warhol in his appropriation of commercial products, César is more interested in the formal traditions of modern sculpture, as for example through the work of Alberto Giacometti. Born César Baldaccini on January 11, 1921 in Marseille to Italian parents, he studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, graduating in 1948. “Despite my classic academic education, I entered the industrial world and learned to approach found materials according to their own language." The artist is at the origin of the creation of the bronze trophies...

Mixed media, 1975 Handsigned by the artist in pencil Edition : 100 ex. Publisher : Harry N. Abrams (New York) Frame dimensions: 20 X 24 inches motorcycle dimensions: 14 X 7 inchesCo...

Poule Andrée, 1980. Original sculpture, 8 examples + 2 EA (Epreuve d’artiste). Acquired directly from César’s studio in Paris 1987. Signed and numbered EA 2/2. Foundry Bocquel. Reg...

Signed, numbered and publisher's hallmark on the base Le Pouce Ed 194/300 - Edition Baccarat 1989 Crystal 45 cm Signed, numbered and publisher's hallmark on the base : César, Baccarat, 194/300 Listed in the Archives Denyse Durand-Ruel, under no.3984. Provenance : Private collection, Paris Exposition : Rétrospective César, Galerie Nationale du Jeu de Paume...

César, Plaque Maillard / Maillard Plate First designed in in welded iron in 1959 and made in bronze in 1971. Sculpture in polished bronze and lost wax casting. Original work signed "...

1974 Compressed wirehoods and champagne corks. Edition of 50 (each different), signed by the artist. Bob Valois Editions. Work registered in the Denyse Durand-Ruel Archives under th...

1990 Compressed bottle caps. Signed lower right on one of the four sides. Series of 50 copies made for the Museum of Modern Art of the City of Paris. This work is listed under n ° 53...

1989 Baccarat Crystal. Signed and numbered 165/300 at the base. Work registered at the Denyse Durand-Ruel Archives under No. 3984. César, French sculpture and member of the "Nouveau...

Sculpture, 1975* Handsigned by the artist in pencil and numbered 76/100 Publisher : Harry N. Abrams (New York) Compressed plastic toy on painted panel in case. Edition to 100 copies ...

Signed Essai. Artwork size: 10 x 20 x 9 cm. Size with base 24 x 10 x 5 cm. Bocquel fondeur. Acquired directly from the artist. Free shipment worldwide. César Baldaccini (1921 ...