César

Selected Works

César
Fanny Fanny, 1990
Bronze soudé et patiné
245 x 123 x 235 cm
Signé et numéroté

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César
Bassine de tête, 1973
Bronze poli
25 x 90 x 60 cm
Signé et numéroté d'une édition à 8 exemplaires

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artistgallery-421-ce sar poule cathy.jpg

César
Poule Cathy, 1984-1987
Bronze soudé et patiné
40 x 20 x 30 cm
Signé et numéroté
Fondeur Bocquel

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CESAR Pouce Bronze poli 350 x 197 x 142 cm Signé et numéroté 1_8, Foudeur Bocquel, copie.jpg

César
Pouce, 1980-2019
Bronze poli
350 x 197 x 142 cm
Signé et numéroté d'une édition à 8 exemplaires
Fondeur Bocquel

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César
Maison de Roël D'haese, 1961-1980
Bronze soudé et patiné
94 x 38 x 28 cm
Signé et numéroté d'une édition à 8 exemplaires
Fondeur Bocquel

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César
Stéphanie, 1981
Bronze soudé et patiné
100 x 34 x 24 cm
Signé et numéroté d'une édition à 8 exemplaires + 4 EA
Fondeur Bocquel

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César
La grosse , 1987
Bronze soudé et patiné
137 x 88 x 110 cm
Signé et numéroté d'une édition à 8 exemplaires
Fondeur Bocquel

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Some of the works depicted are no longer available.

Biography

A sculptor of the contemporary scene, César is part of the New Realists movement born in 1961. His work, unique in its genre, is distinguished by the use of the industrial compression technique.

César (1921-1998) grew up in a modest family of Tuscan origin. As a child, he was passionate about drawing and making toys. After leaving school at the age of 12 to help his father, he entered the École des Beaux-Arts in Marseille at the age of 15. In 1937, he received three prizes in engraving, drawing and architecture. In 1942, a scholarship allowed him to go to Paris where he joined the École des Beaux-Arts. There, he took classes from Marcel Gimond and rubbed shoulders with several artists. In 1945, he returned to Marseille to marry Maria Astruc, then returned to Paris in 1946, where he set up a studio on rue de l’Échaudé.
Through his Compressions, Expansions and Human Footprints, César questioned the aesthetic canons of traditional sculpture. The materials used (iron, waste, polyurethane) allowed the artist to deliver all his creative expression in a raw manner. Through his compressions, César aimed in particular to challenge consumer society.

César reproduced this compression technique on a smaller scale by creating the trophy for the César Awards for French cinema, a sort of paperweight. He also developed a passion for welding in 1949 and devoted a large part of his career to creating welded iron sculptures. Among his most emblematic works, his Centaur (1983-1985), measuring nearly five metres in height, particularly stands out, being a tribute to Pablo Picasso.
He is one of the main representatives of Nouveau Réalisme. The artists who adhered to this movement proposed a work representing the real and urban world as it is. The objects were then diverted towards an aesthetic use.
César was an artist who was thus recognised during his lifetime. Although snubbed by the art world, he multiplied his exhibitions until his major retrospective organised in 1997 shortly before his death.

César, art and matter

Centre Pompidou, rediscover the work of the genius sculptor