César was born in Marseille, France and was a noted French artist. He was a core influencer of the Nouveau Réalisme movement with his radical compressions as well as a member of L’École de Nice in the 1960s. In 1935 he enrolled at L’École des Beaux-Arts in Marseille, and in 1943 he started attending L’École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris. César started off as a traditional sculptor in the same line as Giacometti, then he joined the Nouveau Réalisme around the time he was making his Compressions followed by his Expansions. The French equivalent of the Oscars, Les Césars was named after him for the bronze trophy he created. The inauguration of Le Pouce, his 6m high sculpture, took place at the Olympic Park in Seoul in 1988. A few years later in 1993 César re-visited South Korea with then French President François Mitterand. He was chosen to represent France in the 1995 Venice Biennale. French sculptor César Baldaccini died in Paris at the age of 77.