San Ildefonso Corn Dance Painting [SOLD]

Roybal spent a large portion of his career painting small paintings, generally the size of note cards or postcards, featuring two or three costumed dancers. These were his bread-and-butter paintings as they were inexpensive and easy to sell. Occasionally, he painted larger scale paintings, again with two or three costumed dancers, but only rarely did he paint major dance ceremonies with background materials behind the dancers.

This is one of the major watercolors on paper that Roybal executed. It has 35 human figures, several adobe houses, and a major kiva. The image records the procession of pueblo female and male dancers with a drummer providing the beat. There are Koosa Clowns among the dancers and more of them on top of the kiva. The clowns on top of the kiva are relaxing, smoking and eating watermelon. One of them is spitting out watermelon seeds.

All the figures are marvelously rendered and painted, with typical attention to detail in the depiction of accoutrement such as the jewelry being worn and the face paint of the dancers, as well as the drums, woven sash belts and the high Pueblo-style moccasins worn by the male dancers. The figures stand upon an abstracted baseline with polychrome kiva-step motifs. Behind the row of dancers looms a large kiva, which anchors the painting and provides a backdrop for the dancers.

The painting is signed in the image J.D. Roybal with a roadrunner cartouche. It is in excellent condition.