Julian Martinez

Julian Martinez was a respected artist in his own right.

Courtesy Susan Peterson

Julian Martinez, also known as Pocano, was born in 1879 at the Pueblo of San Ildefonso. His traditional name means "Coming of the Spirits" in the Tewa language. He married Maria Montoya in 1904.

Like Maria, Julian was a skilled potter. He was also an easel painter who painted scenes of Pueblo rituals, and did murals at Mesa Verde National Park. The San Ildefonso Self-Taught Group (also known as the San Ildefonso school) was an art movement that existed from 1900 to 1935. It included such artists as Alfonso Royal, Tonita Peña, Oqwa Pi, Crecencio Martinez, and Encarnación Peña. Julian Martinez was also a member of the movement. He also elected as Governor of the Pueblo of San Ildefonso.

Maria's work was exhibited at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair. Julian worked on site for Dr. Edgar Lee Hewett, director of the Museum of New Mexico. He was excavating in Frijoles Canyon in what is now Bandelier National Monument. In 1908, Dr. Hewett asked Maria to reproduce the ancestral Pueblo pottery he had found.

That winter, Maria and Julian began making pottery for Dr. Hewett. Maria made the pots and Julian decorated and fired them. Together they introduced a distinctive highly-polished matte-on-black decoration for their vessels. They produced the blackware pottery by smothering the fire that reduced oxygen during the firing. Hewett liked the results so much that he helped them sell their work outside of the pueblo. It was the beginning of a new economic opportunity for many Pueblo craftspeople.

The blackware became their trademark, and that of their extended family and other San Ildefonso and Santa Clara Pueblo potters. Later a younger son, Popovi Da, took over decorating and firing. He became a highly-regarded potter in his own right. Many of Maria and Julian's descendants are respected potters today.

Julian Martinez passed away on March 6, 1943 at the Pueblo of San Ildefonso.