Feliciano Bal -- Capitanas de Santa Apolonia

Oil painting measuring 18.5 x 22.3 inches, women leaders of the Cofradia
Feliciano Bal lives in the town of Comalapa, which has a 60+ year history of painting in the naif style. Born in 1943, Bal started painting at an early age. He was exhibiting in the collective exposition in Comalapa by 1968, and has made his living by painting. Bal has exhibited nationally in Guatemala, and has had international expositions in both Germany and the United States.

This painting is from ca. 1970, and was purchased directly from the artist in 2003. It depicts the women leaders of the cofradia (called capitanas) from the village of Santa Apolonia, a community near Comalapa. They are shown wearing the traditional traje of their office, including a large sobrehuipil hand-woven from the local brown cotton. The painting measures 18.5 x 22.3 inches and is stretched but not framed.