This was fascinating. I had no idea such bright and stunning sculptures were being made out of painted wood in the late 1600s. They are so full of personality and passion! It was very interesting learning about Roldan and how her life and art meat situated in the context of Catholic Spain. It was a fascinating look into a time and culture I know little about and while these may not be my favorite style of art, the fact the they exist has expanded my aesthetic horizons.

This beautifully illustrated book introduced me to the 17th century sculptor Luisa Roldan, and how delighted I am to make her acquaintance. This is the first book in English about her, and the first in a projected series entitled Illuminating Women Artists. Luisa Roldan (1652-1706) was a prolific and celebrated sculptor, primarily of wooden church sculptures which were brilliantly painted, and which to this day remain quite startling in their power. Luisa was the daughter of Pedro Roldan, a well-known sculptor from Seville and it can be assumed that she learnt her trade in his workshop. She later established herself independently in Cadiz, Andalucía and Madrid. There’s little documentation to call on, but the author has managed to piece together Luisa’s life from the scraps that are available, and places her in the social, cultural and historical context of the times. Roldan certainly deserves this belated attention to her work and she is increasingly garnering attention. Perhaps more information will come to light in time. The book itself is a great joy with over 80 wonderful illustrations, some of which have rarely, if ever, been reproduced before. This is a must-read for all art lovers, but also for those interested in social history and women’s history as well. Luisa Roldan deserves to take her place amongst other overlooked women artists.

Thank you Netgalley and Getty Publications for access to this arc

So mid 17th century Spain and we’re talking about a female artist which – just wow. Luisa Roldan was from an artisan family and her father taught her what he knew. Luisa met her husband through his apprenticeship under her father and despite dad’s opposition to their marriage (since he would then lose her as a valuable member of his workshop), she petitioned Church authorities to be allowed to do so. You go girl! Sadly, like many artists dependent upon court patronage, Luisa died in poverty.

While Spanish society might publically adhere to the viewpoint that a woman’s place was in the home or convent, in reality the economic contributions of women helped grease the wheels of commerce both inside and outside the home. Women were dependent on their father’s or husband’s guild membership to practice their trades and often their work was subsumed into that of their family making their contributions hard to isolate. But essays, plays, and other literature that would have been widely available make it clear that not all viewed women as less intelligent or capable.

Lots of information about the events that were plaguing (literally) and shaping the viewpoints of residents and artists in Seville in the years before and after Luisa’s birth is included. Several works of art she might have seen in Churches or her own father’s workshop that would no doubt have influenced her growth as an artist are shown in beautiful color photographs. Sadly there is a dearth of written details of Luisa’s training beyond what she might be expected to have learned in her father’s workshop. As well, there is a lack of contracts, commissions or other proof that Luisa was the creator of some statues that are now attributed to her due to similarities of style with known works while some items, for which there is written proof and/or photographs, have been lost (many in the Spanish Civil War) over the centuries. But over three hundred years after they were created, elaborate floats made by Luisa and her husband for Seville’s Holy Week processions are still carried through the streets.

The book is lavishly filled with gorgeous photos of many of Luisa’s wood and terracotta works which are discussed and compared in detail. But not enough to make things boring. Since the Church and the devout Spanish Court were the main patrons, all of these are religiously themed. I have learned a lot about the sculptor, her world, and that women artists could and did forge professional careers in a world largely still run by men. B

While this book has wonderful pictures of the stunning work of Roldan, a Spanish Baroque sculptor, the text shares the fault of too many art books; the text is essays by art historians that are poorly written and dreadfully dull.

Given how little-known the artist is, a better choice of a book to introduce her would be to include lots of pictures with more in-depth captions and a short-readable biographical essay.