Icon of modern art and real phenomenon, Niki de Saint Phalle is a self-taught Swiss artist, descended from the banker’s family of the same name. Painter, illustrator and sculptor, she began her career with her first gouache exhibition in Switzerland in 1956. She quickly became part of Pierre Restany's Nouveaux Réalistes group (César, Arman, Klein, Spoerri etc…). She is also known for developing the art of performance from 1961, through her "shootings", her own way of warding off an almost incestuous paternal relationship that marked her throughout her life. The study of volume and the richness of colour, as well as the playful aspect, are central to her work and to the creation of her "Nanas", emblematic of her work. Although close to abstraction, Niki de St Phalle exploited the plasticity of certain pictures, such as the snake, which she transposed into different types of work.

The 1960s marked the peak of her international career, working alongside her husband, the artist Jean Tinguely, with whom she collaborated on the design of monumental works’ parks, such as the Tarot Garden in Tuscany after 1979. For this one, she is inspired by the Parc Guëll in Barcelona, designed by Antonio Gaudi, but also from the Renaissance gardens of Bomarzo, commissioned in the sixteenth century. The interest in her work was immediate and sustainable, and she went on to create period after period, success after success, developing a totally original sculpture where colour and form combine and merge in an interdependent way: the nanas, the snakes, the figures dancing in the sky and the fantastic animals make up a world, a universe of life and gaiety, unique in the 20th century. In 1983, at Mitterrand's request, she and her husband created the Stravinsky Fountain in front of the Beaubourg Centre. She died in 2002 as a result of her work in resin, folding and inhalation; she was very generous and supported several causes.