Granada's History Murals

My single trip to the Casa de los Tres Mundos in Granada left me with overwhelming visions of the fascinating history, contemporary art, social and cultural trends, and archaeology of Nicaragua. One lovely feature just as you enter the building is a set of murals running along the wall of a colonnaded walk-way surrounding the a grassy central courtyard. The murals depict various stages of the growth of Granada, beginning with the pre-columbian period and extending to the era of the American fillibustering imperialist General Walker in the 1850's. Each stage is annotated with a quote from a source from the period.

Although the murals do not seem to be dated (or at least I didn't readily see a date), they were undertaken with the support of the Nicaraguan government, the Nicaraguan Institute of Culture and the government of Italy. The primary artist is listed as Maestro Maurizio Governatori (perhaps Italian?), with the collaboration of five other contributors and with the special contributions of Dr. Jorge Eduardo Arellano. In addition 4 students of the National School of Plastic Arts were involved. It must have been a really exciting project to work on -- from the research to the planning of the murals to the execution!

The murals bear the main title of "Historia de la Construccion de la Ciudad de Granada". Each individual section of the mural has its own title as well.


1. "Asentamiento Aborigen (1200-1523)" (left)



















2. "Etapa Fundacional (1524-1539)" (right)



















3. "Expansion Colonizadora (1540-1600)" (left)


















4. "Auge Comercial" (right)






















5. "Ataques Piraticos, Recuperacion y Defensas Militares (1665-1811)" (left)
















6. "Independencia y Guerras Civiles (1812-1855)" (right)

There seemed to be no mural associated with the 7th quote, called "Incendio Filibustero (1856)".

Francisco Calero's Cat Vases

Lots of people love cats. Francisco Calero, an established potter in San Juan de Oriente outside of Masaya, Nicaragua, has taken this to heart, and designed several vases with cat motifs.











When I've brought these pots back to the US to sell, they go like hotcakes!














He makes them in a variety of colors, and in a soft spherical shape or a partially compressed square shape. I usually waterproof them using masonry sealant on the interior (it takes several coats), so that they can be used for either live plant material or silk and dried material. They are always a wonderful gift for the special cat lover!

Juan Sanchez & His Container with Cut Opening

Juan Sanchez, the young ceramic artist that I have profiled in a previous post ( June 4, 2008), comes up with some really interesting designs.
His experimentation leads to unusual pots, including the one featured in today's post.

This beautiful polychromatic work takes a common shape, moves the mouth to one side and then creates an opening across the top that complements the painted surface design and the overall form of the vessel. Juan has produced a number of this particular pot, perfecting his design and cut opening technique on each successive container. He now has a gallery quality work of art, featuring his unique color palate and his unusual vessel form. In addition to these unique design elements, Juan has added the use of black sand to the mouth and the swirling arcs, as well as to the bottom half of the pot. The work is signed on the bottom.

Juan and his family of siblings are a very creative and productive clan -- I can hardly wait to return to their workshop on the outskirts of San Juan de Oriente to see what they are coming up with next!