Gerardo Cantu Litho Nocturno 1977 Paris Original Signed Print

Description

A Parisian scene frozen in time

There is something deeply mysterious about this couple: they are together, yet they seem to inhabit a world of their own.

"Nocturne" is an elegant lithograph by Gerardo Cantú, created in Paris in 1977, belonging to a particularly interesting stage in the artist's graphic career. The composition presents a man and a woman seated side by side on a bench or seat of ornamental appearance. Both figures face the viewer, although their postures and gazes suggest an intimate and silent relationship between them.

The male figure appears in profile, slightly leaning toward the woman, while she looks directly at us with a serene and enigmatic expression. Their bodies are constructed through a complex combination of lines, hatched areas, and zones of intense black that contrast with the lighter areas of the paper. The woman wears a dress of elaborate texture and is accompanied by a small vase with flowers, a detail that introduces a delicate note within the somber atmosphere of the composition.

The background is equally important. Cantú does not construct a conventional realistic space, but rather a kind of undefined stage made up of stains, textures, shadows, and strokes that seem to dissolve around the figures. The result is an image of an almost theatrical, intimate, and nocturnal character.

The work is signed in pencil by Gerardo Cantú, dated "77," and accompanied by the word "Paris," referencing the place where it was made. In the lower left margin appears the numbering 55/100, which identifies this copy within an edition of one hundred impressions.

Gerardo Cantú: A pioneer of printmaking in Mexico

Gerardo Cantú (Nueva Rosita, Coahuila, 1934 - Monterrey, Nuevo León, 2021) was one of the most important Mexican artists of his generation and developed an extensive career as a painter, draftsman, printmaker, and muralist.

He initially trained at the Taller de Artes Plásticas of the Universidad de Nuevo León and later studied at the Escuela Nacional de Pintura, Escultura y Grabado "La Esmeralda". In 1958, he received a scholarship to study at the National Academy of Fine Arts of Charles University in Prague, an experience that profoundly marked his artistic training. He also carried out studies and artistic work in Paris.

His career had an important national and international dimension. He presented more than 300 exhibitions and held solo exhibitions at the Palacio de Bellas Artes, in addition to participating in shows in countries such as France, the Czech Republic, Cuba, Argentina, Paraguay, Brazil, Spain, and India.

Cantú also holds a particularly relevant place within the history of Mexican printmaking. INBAL has recognized him as a pioneer of printmaking in Mexico, and his graphic production encompassed techniques such as etching, aquatint, burin engraving, and lithography. In 1975, he received the Printmaking Prize at the Salón del Dibujo y la Estampa in Mexico City.

Technique: Lithography on paper

Documentary evidence allows "Nocturne" to be identified as an original lithograph on paper. Lithography is a printing technique in which the image is worked on a flat surface prepared to receive ink. The process allows for an enormous variety of tonal values, lines, stains, and textures, characteristics that are clearly appreciated in this work.

In "Nocturne," Cantú especially takes advantage of these possibilities to construct the figures through an extraordinary variety of lines and densities. The black areas of the bodies contrast with the more luminous passages of the paper, while the background is developed through stains and textures that generate depth without resorting to traditional perspective.

The work was made in Paris in 1977, during one of Cantú's European periods. Biographical documentation specifically indicates that that year he worked on lithography at the Clot Bramsen et Georges workshop and on metal engraving at another Parisian workshop.

Style and interpretation

"Nocturne" belongs to that aspect of Cantú's graphic work in which the human figure becomes a vehicle for exploring relationships, emotions, and psychological states.

The couple depicted here does not seem to be posing for a conventional portrait. The physical proximity between the two figures contrasts with the emotional distance suggested by their expressions. The man directs his attention toward the woman, while she appears to look beyond the viewer. This difference introduces a certain narrative tension: we can imagine that we are witnessing a silent conversation or a private moment that Cantú decided to freeze.

The small vase placed beside the woman also acquires a possible symbolic character. Flowers can suggest beauty, affection, fragility, or even the passage of time. Within a composition titled "Nocturne," the atmosphere also takes on a more introspective dimension. The darkness surrounding the figures does not seem simply to represent night, but rather a mental, intimate, and mysterious space.

The stylized anatomy, elongated faces, expressive hands, and intense use of hatching are characteristic elements of Cantú's graphic language. The artist manages to make the figures appear simultaneously real and fantastical, as if they were protagonists of a story we know only through a single instant.

INBAL itself has highlighted that Cantú's graphic work recurrently explored the female figure, eroticism, and human relationships, using different printing techniques.

Condition

The work is in very good general condition and retains a particularly attractive presentation thanks to its gilded frame.

The paper maintains a stable appearance, and the image shows good definition, adequately preserving the characteristic lines, textures, and contrasts of the lithograph. The signature, date, inscription "Paris," and numbering remain clearly visible.

The frame shows some minor details and signs of use typical of its age, mainly in the gilded finish, but these are not particularly noticeable when the piece is installed on the wall. In general terms, the work is ready to hang and enjoy.

Collecting

"Nocturne" brings together several elements that make it a particularly attractive piece for a collector of Mexican art: it is an original graphic work, signed in pencil by the artist, corresponds to a limited edition of 100 copies, is dated 1977, and was created during Cantú's stay in Paris.

Cantú's graphic work has also received considerable institutional attention. In 2016-2017, the Museo Mural Diego Rivera of INBAL presented "Gerardo Cantú. Un mismo amor, vivencias y videncias" (One and the Same Love, Experiences and Visions), an exhibition that brought together 67 works and dedicated one of its sections precisely to printmaking as a fundamental part of his career. More recently, in 2025, the Salón de la Plástica Mexicana presented "Musas, mujeres y fantasías" (Muses, Women, and Fantasies), an exhibition dedicated to his graphic work with 25 pieces made using various printing techniques.

For those seeking to incorporate into their collection a representative work of 20th-century Mexican graphic art, "Nocturne" is especially interesting because it combines the international dimension of Cantú's career with one of his recurring themes: the human figure and relationships between men and women.

It is, moreover, a work that functions extraordinarily well in a contemporary space. Its monochromatic palette, its elegant gilded frame, and its Parisian atmosphere allow it to be integrated both into a collection of Mexican art and into interiors of European, mid-century, or classical inspiration.