César

In 1965, César began his “Pouce” series, featuring enlargements of his own thumb. Previously, he had primarily worked with metal, but he then shifted to innovative materials like plastic and resin. Around this time, he also initiated a series called “Expansions” — a contrast to his earlier “Compressions” — based on the technique of pantographic enlargement.

For “Pouce”, César made a cast of his own thumb, which he then enlarged to 40 cm, creating a sculpture in pink translucent plastic. The piece faithfully replicates the details of the artist’s thumb, including the nail, skin folds, and fingerprint. The bottom of the sculpture represents the area where the thumb would normally connect to the hand, giving it an upward-pointing appearance.

Following the success of this work, César produced duplicates of the sculpture in various sizes and materials, including polyester adhesive, crystal, bronze, and even sugar. The largest version, exhibited at La Défense, stands at 12 meters tall.