César Baldaccini, known as CESAR (1921-1998) Compression, 1970s. One-of-a-kind Letterflex print. Signed in graphite lower right. Sheet size: 64 x 47 cm (view). Size with frame: 76 x 60 cm. Provenance: Given by César to Jean-René Laplayne (1923-2016), then by descent. Bibliography: Le Provençal, Album des 50 ans 1944-1994, page 14. Jean-René Laplayne (real name Jean-Dominique Chiocca), was a journalist, editorial writer and former editor-in-chief of the Marseilles newspaper Le Provençal, then of La Corse from 1989. In the late 1960s and 1970s, Le Provençal underwent a remarkable technological evolution, initiated by its director Gaston Defferre, who was also mayor of Marseille and a government minister. At the turn of the two decades, Le Provençal embraced information technology, replacing lead with letterflex. This change coincided with the newspaper's move from rue Francis Davso to their more modern premises on avenue Roger Salengro. César, who visited Le Provençal to greet his friend Jean-René Laplayne, was impressed by the switch from lead to letterflex, a material to which he attributed aesthetic qualities. So much so, in fact, that he decided to make a compression for his friend, which remained in his office for the rest of his career.