Centre Pompidou is currently having a great retrospect of the late French artist César (Baldaccini) whose most famous work is his thumb in different sizes and different materials. Once you have seen this exhibit you will however realize that even though le Pouce is his most famous work, it is only one of a multitude of works in different materials and techniques. He has crushed/compressed, expanded, welded, sculpted, and he has poured. César was born in Marseille in 1921 and he went to art school at first in Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Marseilles and later transferred to École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris. In Paris he met among others, Picasso and he lived in the same building as Giacometti which both influenced him strongly. César’s works were in the area of what was regarded as Nouveau Realisme and he sometimes fabricated from scraps and found things. César died in Paris in 1988 at the age of 77. Read more about Centre Pompidou and become a member here.