Frontstalag 122 - portfolio of 12 lithographs

Manuel Cano de Castro

Frontstalag 122 is not just a visual record of the atrocities of World War II, but it appears to be the only first-hand account of a native Costa Rican artist in a Nazi concentration camp. Manuel Cano de Castro created this portfolio of twelve images in 1944 just months after his extradition from occupied France to his birthland. Documenting his experience in Camp B - also known as "Camp Americaine" - in the Royallieu-Compiègne in German-occupied Northern France from 1942 to early 1944, Castro said of the work: "I had to reconstruct from memory the scenes of life in the concentration camp because the originals were taken from me by the Germans when I left. When you have had strong emotions, you just have to work from memory. I have insisted on extracting from the life of Compiègne how much sadness it had, avoiding the anecdote." - Cano de Castro, Repertorio Americano, November 25, 1944.

Castro, who was a Spanish resident but who had been born and raised in Costa Rica, had connections through family to a Costa Rican lawyer at the Sorbonne. He was able to have Castro extradited to Costa Rica before he could be deported to Auschwitz or Dachau - the fate of the majority in the camp. After recreating his sketches from memory, Castro began printing Front-Stalag 122 on August 19, 1944, a few months after his return to his birthland.

Castro's portfolio is thought to be the first lithographic portfolio created in Costa Rica; it was certainly the first to be published by La Casa Grafica. Interestingly, despite his paternal connection to the Central American country, and despite his unique life and the international reputation he boasted up until his internment, the portfolio was not celebrated among Costa Ricans; in fact, no historical documentation or mention of Castro seemed to exist there at all until very recently. According to an article in La Nacion written by Maria E. Guardia Yglesias (July 24, 2021), global wars had not made much of a mark on the people of Costa Rica at that point, and Castro's dark and troubling art, therefor, was not especially understood or welcome.

On March 24, 2022, the opening of the exhibition "Manuel Cano de Castro: Rediscovering a Master of Lithography" took place in Costa Rica at the Museo de Arte Costarricanse. His name and work have since begun to gain further attention due to the efforts of art historians, curators, and the memorial at Royallieu-Compiègne, France.

Please note that complete sets of these works are extremely rare and it seems that only a small handful are in existence. While this one is complete, it no longer has its cover, and some of the margins appear to have been slightly trimmed. Despite this, the works are in excellent condition. Please contact the gallery with any questions.