Joan Camps Mercadal, known to everyone in Maó as Nito, was a self-taught painter whose landscapes and murals became part of everyday life in Menorca — on the walls of bars, shops and clubs, as well as in many private homes.
From jewellery to painting
Nito was born in Maó on 18 August 1928. As a young man he worked in his family’s jewellery business, travelling by boat to Barcelona and then by train around Spain to visit clients and bring back orders for the workshop on Camí des Castell.
He painted in his spare time, without ever attending formal classes, learning through practice and observation. After leaving the jewellery business, between the mid-1950s and early 1960s, he was able to devote more time to art.
A sell-out first exhibition
In 1974 he held his first exhibition at the Ateneu de Maó, during the Mare de Déu de Gràcia festivities. Titled Exhibition of black and white painting by Nito Camps, it included 36 works showing Menorcan scenes: the port of Maó, Sa Mesquida, Es Grau and s’Albufera des Grau, Sant Lluís, Binibèquer, Alcaufar, Alaior, Es Mercadal, Es Migjorn Gran and Ciutadella, among others.
The show opened on 6 September to a large crowd, and by the end of the first week almost every painting had been sold.
Murals across Menorca
Nito painted numerous murals in public places. Many have since disappeared through renovations, but photographs and memories preserve them:
- Penya Barcelonista, Maó: a mural of the exterior of FC Barcelona’s Camp Nou stadium, which survives.
- Bar Europa (Can Uenxi): two murals, of the cave of Na Polida and the cove of Cales Coves.
- Bar Mediterráneo: a large mural of Cala Rafalet.
- The Catisa factory bar: a view of Sa Mesquida, lost when the building collapsed.
- Cas Gomiles barber’s shop: a humorous mural of three men piled on a wicker chair under the caption “el siguiente, por favor”, lost in a refurbishment around 1970–71.
- Casino de Sant Climent: a view of Cales Coves, lost when a staircase was built.
- Bar Pons, Cala en Porter: a mural of the Penya de s’Indi and five still lifes from 1972–74, which survive.
Decorations for every occasion
Nito also painted backdrops and decorations for fashion shows, concerts and village festivals, bringing his Menorcan touch to stages, squares and community halls.
His legacy
Nito never sought recognition beyond the island, but his decision to paint in everyday places brought art to people who might never have visited a gallery. His surviving murals and paintings, many in private collections, remain a record of Menorca’s landscapes and of a way of life in Maó in the second half of the 20th century.
