Isn’t it amazing that avenues are named after artists? Avenue César Baldaccini is one such place. It honors a sculptor born right here in Marseille.
César Baldaccini or simply César was born in 1921. His parents were Italian immigrants from Tuscany. They ran a bar in the Belle-de-Mai a working-class neighborhood. Imagine young César sketching and building toy carts from tin cans. He was a natural autodidact.
He attended the École supérieure des beaux-arts de Marseille from 1935 to 1939. In 1937 César won prizes in engraving drawing and architecture.
During the war César avoided service. He moved to Paris and in 1943 entered the École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts.
Early on César could not afford stone. He turned to plaster and iron. By 1949 he learned arc welding. He used scrap metal to create his first sculptures. Money was tight. César scoured junkyards for materials. Tubes bolts and screws became insects or the Venus of Villetaneuse.
César exhibited at the Galerie Lucien Durand in 1954. He won a prize for his sculpture Le Poisson. The state bought his work for the Musée national d’art moderne in 1955. That same year he exhibited at the Salon de Mai.
In 1956 César participated in the Venice Biennale and the São Paulo Biennale. He also attended Documenta II in 1959. By 1961 César joined the Nouveaux Réalistes. This group included Arman Jean Tinguely and Niki de Saint Phalle.
When César could afford a studio in 1957 he married Rosine Groult-Baldaccini. They had a daughter Anna. He began frequenting the Parisian nightlife.
César created the Césars trophy in 1976. This bronze compression is awarded by French film professionals. In 1984 César created Homage to Eiffel. It used fragments from the Eiffel Tower.
César cultivated an image as an eternal craftsman and great creator. He had many exhibitions including a retrospective at the Jeu de Paume in 1997.
César is known for his compressions. In 1958 he assembled deformed metal sheets. He discovered a scrap metal press that compacted car bodies. From 1959 he focused on directed compression. He used a hydraulic press to compress objects.
At the Salon de Mai in 1960 César displayed Trois tonnes. This artwork featured three compressed cars. In 1961 Jean Lafont gave César a new Soviet car. César compressed it losing 90% of its volume.
In 1967 César presented La Grande Expansion orange. It was made of polyurethane. From 1969 he improved the conservation of his Expansions. He also worked with crystal and plastic.
In 1965 César presented his famous enlarged Thumb. It was a print of his own thumb. For the 1988 Seoul Olympics he created a six-meter-high bronze Thumb.
César began using arc welding in 1949. By 1966 he had created over 300 constructions. In 1983 he started Centaur in homage to Pablo Picasso. The sculpture was installed in Paris.
César’s works are in museums worldwide. Though initially snubbed he is now recognized for his major contribution to sculpture. Avenue César Baldaccini reminds us of his innovative spirit. It celebrates his unique place in art history. His legacy lives on through his art and this very avenue that bears his name.