Luisa Roldán

Because of the quality of her work, Antonio Palomino considered her as important a sculptor as her father, Pedro Roldán. Although Roldán became the Escultor de Cámara, or Court Sculptor, to the Habsburg King Charles II, she struggled financially. On the day of her death, Roldan was given the title of "Academician of Merit" from the Accademia di San Luca in Rome.

The recorded working language is Spanish. The field of work recorded is art of sculpture and Baroque. Residence is recorded at Cádiz and Madrid. Work by Luisa Roldán is recorded in the collections of Metropolitan Museum of Art, J. Paul Getty Museum and Museo del Prado.

Roldán was born in Seville, Spain, the daughter of sculptor Pedro Roldán and his wife Teresa de Ortega. She was taught by her father, alongside her siblings, how to draw, utilize clay to shape figures and finally sculpt or carve in wood. She became an apprentice in her father's workshop. Also working within the workshop was Luis Antonio de los Arcos, who Roldán married when she was 19. The marriage was against her father's wishes. Santiago Montoto, writing in 1920, went so far as to characterize it as an "abduction" ("rapto"), perhaps reflecting his lack of understanding of marriage customs of the period. The chosen partnerships of two of her sisters and one brother also met with parental disapproval. Afterwards, Roldán worked in Cádiz from 1686 to 1688. She established her own workshop, together with her husband and her brother-in-law, Tomás de los Arcos, to create religious polychromed wooden sculptures. Roldán was the principal sculptor, while Tomás helped with his expertise in flesh painting and gilding. He was a specialist in painting flesh tones. She created wooden sculptures as well as statues for the Cádiz Cathedral and the town council. In 1688 she moved to Madrid, and in 1692 was later awarded the position of "escultora de camara" or "Sculptor to the Chamber", serving Charles II and later Philip V as "Sculptor to the King". Roldán created a terracotta piece called the Virgen con el Nino, and donated it to the Accademia di San Luca, to which she was admitted at the end of her life. Roldán had seven children, two of whom survived to adulthood. During her time working for Charles II, Roldán, her husband, and their children all suffered during the country's economic crisis. She tried to improve her financial situation by appealing to Charles II's second wife, Queen Maria Anna for help. The queen responded by granting money, but it proved insufficient. Luisa's husband, Luis Antonio de los Arcos hoped to improve matters by applying for a position at court, but was unsuccessful. Roldán's husband did play a part in marketing her work and extending her reputation. Charles II commissioned a sculpture titled of Nazareno ("Penitent"), but, following Charles's death, this remained in the artist's workshop. Her husband tried to have the sculpture sent to Rome through the recommendation of influential contacts, but instead it was purchased by a convent in Sisante, Cuenca. Roldán died in poverty in Madrid in 1706.

Roldán's works are strongly characterized as possessing "clearly delineated profiles, thick locks of hair, billowing draperies, and mystical faces with delicate eyes, knitting brows, rosy cheeks, and slightly parted lips." The "knitted brows" that are sometimes noted in her terracotta angels are not usually seen in her works in wood, which are characterized by open, evenly arched brows. Her St. Ginés de la Jara, made around 1692, is now at the Getty Center. Unlike the billowing cape of her St Michael in El Escorial, the robe worn by the Getty's San Gines is very still. Processional statues whose creation can be safely attributed to her include statues of the Virgen de la Soledad, Mary Magdalen, and Jesus. Her sculpture of the Virgen de la Soledad appeared in several Catholic Churches and appealed to many people from different social classes. In Cádiz, works by her include statues of Anthony of Padua, Ecce Homo, and Saints Servandus and Cermanus. She was a prolific sculptor. Much of her work comprised religious sculptures for churches. For example, the sculptures of the holy saints, Archangel Saint Michael and Mary Magdalene. While living in Madrid she also made small terracotta works popular with the petty bourgeoisie. The smaller works could be used for personal devotion and took the forms of religious scenes, human forms and animals. Her pieces were widely distributed in Andalusia, as well as in Madrid, Móstoles and Sisante (Province of Cuenca), New York, London, Ontario, Los Angeles and Chicago. The following sculptures in Spanish churches are attributed to her: Most Holy Mary of Silence (María Santísima del Silencio), Jaén Carved wooden figures of San Servando and San Germán, patrons of Cádiz, in the Cádiz Cathedral Saint Joseph, Iglesia de San Antonio, Cádiz Saint Anthony of Padua, Iglesia de Santa Cruz, Cádiz Saint John the Baptist, Iglesia de San Antonio de Padua, Cádiz Our Lady of Sorrows of the Remedies (Dolorosa de los Remedios), Jerez de la Frontera Virgin of Solitude (Virgen de la Soledad), Iglesia de la Victoria, Puerto Real Ecce Homo, Cádiz Cathedral. 1684. Carved polychromed wood, 165 cm. The date was confirmed by a document found in its interior during a restoration by J.M. Sánchez Peña in 1984. The head, arms, hands and torso to hip height were made in cedar, and the rest including the chlamys was made in pine. Ecce Homo, Córdoba Christ of the Pardon, (Cristo del Perdón), Fregenal de la Sierra Saint Ferdinand, Las Palmas Cathedral, Gran Canaria Penitent (Nazareno), Iglesia de las Hermanas Nazarenas, Sisante A figure of Mary Magdalene in Cádiz was destroyed by fire at the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936. Other notable works are in collections and museums: St. Michael Overwhelming the Demon, Royal Collections Gallery, Madrid Virgo lactans, Museum of Fine Arts of Seville Death or Ecstasy of Mary Magdalene, Marriage of Saint Catherine, Hispanic Society of America, New York City Saint Joachim, Saint Ann and the Virgin as a Child (La Virgen niña con San Joaquín y Santa Ana) and Jesus' First Steps (Los primeros pasos de Jesús), Museum of Fine Arts, Guadalajara, Spain Saint Michael, Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Canada. The Virgin Appears to Saint James Victoria and Albert Museum, London, England. The Entombment of Christ, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. The Education of the Virgin, LACMA, Los Angeles. Education of the Virgin, Blanton Museum of Art, Austin.