On the occasion of its next Modern and Contemporary Art auction on 25 November 2020, the PIASA house will present a selection of rare and varied works by the famous French sculptor César.
César Baldaccini was born in 1921 in Marseille to Italian parents of Tuscan origin. As a child, he developed a passion for drawing and was self-taught. In 1944, César obtained a scholarship from the city of Marseille and entered the National School of Fine Arts. In Paris, César frequented the artistic circles of Montparnasse and Saint-Germain-des-Prés in the immediate post-war period. There he met Giacometti, Germaine Richier and Picasso, among others, who would greatly influence his vision of sculpture.
César's artistic identity was asserted during an internship at an industrial joinery in the late 1940s, when he was confronted with metallurgy, assembly and raw materials. He then exchanged the mallet for the milling machine, the chisel for the soldering iron. Caesar appropriates scrap metal and metal scraps and explores industrial materials, which he transforms into so many disturbing animal and human figures. It was from his workshop in Villetaneuse, installed "in the corner of a factory", that the artist produced his famous soldering irons. From then on, César gained international recognition. His particular technique, which combines the classical mastery of sculpture with the conceptual audacity of modernity, is celebrated from New York to Tokyo.
César (César Baldaccini dit) (1923-1998)
Untitled
Estimate : 7000 / 9000 €
The famous series of the artist's "Compressions" was initiated in 1960, after he accidentally discovered a giant American hydraulic press capable of swallowing up the size of a car at a scrap yard in Genevilliers. From then on, he would perform Compressions throughout his career, exploring the formal possibilities of the press as an artistic tool.
The early Compressions, made of raw materials, differ from those of the 1970s, known as "Directed Compressions", whose constituent elements were chosen by Caesar according to their intrinsic properties. These almost contemporary Compressions bear witness to Caesar's never-ending quest for "something else", to his perpetual spirit of invention, research and new discoveries.
César (César Baldaccini dit) (1921-1998)
Compression
Estimate : 35000 / 45000 €
Alongside the welded irons, compressions and expansions, Caesar also experimented with many other everyday objects. The burning of matches dating from 1970, estimated at between 7000 and 9000 euros, reflects Caesar's fascination with artistic accident. Indeed, he declared about his art: "It is adventure. Sometimes things develop in an accident, and if I suffer it it is because I decided to suffer it"..."
César (César Baldaccini dit) (1921-1998)
Untitled, 31.12.1970
Estimate : 7000 / 9000 €
