Martial Raysse studied at the Faculté des Lettres in Nice. His goal was to become a writer, but he ultimately chose painting. He was childhood friends with both Yves Klein and Arman. In the early 1960s, Raysse was one of the founders of nouveau réalisme and he chiefly made assemblages with plastic consumer goods. A few years later, he created his first portraits of women, which he compiled using projected photos, sometimes with the addition of neon light. In the 1970s and 80s, the artist continued to reinvent himself and worked predominately with simple materials in a more tactile style.
