Luisa Roldán

Abstract

Luisa Roldán (b. 1652–d. 1706) lived and worked in three Spanish cities, was sculptor to the royal chambers of Kings Carlos II and Felipe V of Spain, but left no followers and died in relative poverty. Her work relates to two different artistic traditions: intimate groups in terracotta representing the Virgin Mary and the Christ Child with saints, which met the desires of the Spanish nobility whose social status was reinforced by displaying this type of possession in their homes, and powerful, over-life-sized wooden sculptures of Christ and the saints that proclaimed a robust religious faith in niches and chapels in Andalucían churches and when carried through Seville’s streets during Holy Week. Roldán’s life and her work have begun to receive significant scholarly attention in the past half-century, placing her firmly in the canon of Spanish art history. Most of the scholarship about Roldán is written in Spanish, with increasing numbers of publications appearing in English. As a female sculptor in Golden Age Spain Roldán‘s identity invites examination through the lenses of her gender, the two very different artistic media that she used, the sociopolitical contexts of the cities in which she worked, and the reception of her work. Her social position is a complex one to understand. She was not a member of a noble family, had limited participation in her family workshop, and enjoyed only sporadic access to external patronage. A significant factor in the establishment of her public identity is the manner in which Roldán’s life and work has been approached by writers. In the first two centuries after her death fewer than ten references to her life or her work were published. The pace of scholarship increased in the 20th century after Proske’s publication in 1964 of three seminal articles attracted the interest of scholars beyond Spain. Journal articles began to appear, and in 2007 an exhibition was held dedicated to her work and her role as a sculptor at the courts of two Spanish kings. Since then details have been brought to light in journal articles, book chapters, conference papers, and exhibition catalogue entries, contributing to the development of a maturing and nuanced appreciation of Roldán’s life and work. Luisa Roldán was a resourceful and productive woman whose personal drive and creativity were stronger than any potentially restrictive societal boundaries. Her enduring and indeed growing public recognition owes much to the ability she had to adapt to changing circumstances by marrying without her father’s consent, moving cities, seeking new patrons, and changing the medium in which she worked. The bibliography that follows presents our current understanding, through the lenses of documentary evidence and scholarly analysis, which acknowledges her place in the artistic, social, and economic environments in which she lived.