This beautifully illustrated monograph presents the first overview in English of the life and work of Luisa Roldan (1652-1706), a prolific and celebrated sculptor of the Spanish Golden Age. The daughter of Pedro Roldan, a well-known sculptor from Seville, she developed her talent in her father's workshop. Early in her career she produced large polychromed wooden sculptures for churches in Seville, Cadiz, and surrounding towns. She spent the second half of her career in Madrid, where she worked in both polychromed wood and polychromed terracotta, developing new products for a domestic, devotional market. In recognition of her talent, she was awarded the title of Sculptor to the Royal Chambers of two kings of Spain, Charles II and Philip V. This book places Roldan within a wider historical and social context, exploring what life would have been like for her as a woman sculptor in early modern Spain. It considers her work alongside that of other artists of the Baroque period, including Velazquez, Murillo, and Zurbaran. Reflecting on the opportunities available to her during this time, as well as the challenges she faced, Catherine Hall-van den Elsen weaves the narrative of Roldan's story with analysis, revealing the complexities of her oeuvre. Every year, newly discovered sculptures in wood and in terracotta enter into Roldan's oeuvre. As her artistic output begins to attract greater attention from scholars and art lovers, Luisa Roldan provides invaluable insights into her artistic achievements.
Catherine Hall-van den Elsen studied Spanish art at La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia. She completed her M.A (1986) and Ph.D (1992) on the life and work of Luisa Roldan. In 2018, Hall published a monograph of Luisa Roldan in Spanish (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas) and in 2020 an annotated bibliography in the Oxford Bibliographies in Art History series (Oxford University Press). She has contributed book chapters to Roldana (Junta de Andalucia, 2007), Women Artists in the Courts of Europe (Amsterdam University Press, anticipated 2021), and Polychromy in the Early Modern World: 1200-1800 (Routledge, anticipated 2022).
Foreword; Introduction; Chapter 1: Women in Early Modern Spain; Chapter 2: Sculpture in Seville; Chapter 3: Andalucia: Building a Career; Chapter 4: Madrid: Challenge and Opportunity; Chapter 5: Luisa Roldan through the lenses of History; notes; chronology; extant works; further reading
