La pareja, 1975 by Miguel Calderón Paredes

A raw, baroque depiction of intimacy—both exposed and estranged—drawn with Mediterranean color and unflinching tenderness.

Extended Description

In this untitled lithograph, Miguel Calderón Paredes offers a startling portrayal of the nude human body, stripped of idealization. Created in 1975, the composition presents a man and a woman reclining in what appears to be a shared bed—though their postures suggest solitude as much as closeness. With graphic immediacy and finely gestural linework, Calderón Paredes captures the folds, hair, and textures of real bodies, rendering them both grotesque and intimate.

The visual language recalls elements of Dubuffet or the Spanish Nueva Figuración, with a psychological undertone that evokes the tension of post-Franco domesticity. The ornamental headboard and earthy palette suggest a Mediterranean interior, where the nude is less a symbol of eroticism than of shared time, age, and exposure.

Printed in a limited edition of 135 copies, this is number 93. A rare and powerful work by a Spanish artist whose explorations of figuration and body politics remain relevant today.

Technical Sheet

• Object: Print
• Title: la pareja
• Artist / Author: Miguel Calderón Paredes
• Date: 1975
• Technique / Printing Method: Lithography
• Medium / Materials: Ink on paper
• Edition: 93/135
• Signed: Yes, pencil signed and dated
• Framing: Unframed
• Dimensions: 68 × 49 cm
• Condition: Excellent condition, minor handling signs
• Provenance: Private Collection