Pouce
About this artwork
This sculpture is based on a cast of the artist’s own thumb, the original version of which was produced for an exhibition on the theme of the hand. As César told the French art critic, Georges Boudaille, in 1965: “This thumb is a thing which interests me passionately, I like it just as much as my other sculptures. I could be reproached for not having made it with my own hands. But then, what is the role of dreams, of imagination?” Today this is perhaps the most well-known of César’s subjects, since a forty-foot version, erected in 1994, can be seen at La Défense in Paris.
Updated before 2020
-
artist:César (César Baldaccini) (1921 - 1998) French
-
title:Pouce
-
date created:1965 - 1968
-
materials:Bronze (6/10)
-
measurements:8.00 cm x 3.70 cm x 4.20 cm
-
object type:
-
credit line:Donated by Eric and Jean Cass through the Contemporary Art Society 2012
-
accession number:GMA 5188
-
gallery:
César (César Baldaccini)
César (César Baldaccini)
César was born in Marseille, where he studied art before going on to study in Paris from 1943 to 1948. His early work used soldered and welded metal as well as junk materials, and by 1960 César was considered one of France's leading sculptors. In that year he astonished his followers by showing...