NO8DO-Seville’s Forgotten Master

Luisa Roldán:

The motto of Seville is NO8DO- translates to ‘No me ha dejado’ - or ‘you haven’t left me’. In theory, this is a great notion (and has huge historical significance but we don’t have time for that) and something the city is very proud of.

There are many well known artists that have either come out of Seville or drew inspiration from it’s great masters. It is true, probably not as famous the Italian or French masters that most American’s tend to study, but remarkable nonetheless.

What I noticed during my research was that most of these great artists were men. I was curious, it was a different time, but were there no women artists? I found it hard to believe but, you know, history happens. But, I couldn’t have been more wrong: Luisa Roldán.

Virgen de la leche

‘La Roldana’

‘La Roldana’ as she was known as, was born during the Baroque era in Seville in 1652. She is now known as the first woman sculptor and court sculptor on record in Spain. Her father, Pedro Roldán was a well known sculptor in the Andalusia region and taught Luisa and her siblings his craft as apprentices. To make a long story short, she also was an apprentice to Luis Antonio de los Arcos- who she married at 19 and moved to Cadiz with and opened her own studio. Two years later in 1688, she moved to Madrid in attempts to become ‘Escultor de Cámara’ to King Charles II. She was officially granted the position in 1692 and maintained it until her death in 1706.

Ntra Sra de la Soledad

NO8DO

Despite the many works that to this day represent a huge part of Spanish culture and history- unlike today, artists weren’t exactly flushed with cash for throwing paint on a canvas.
Her intricate woodwork was not enough to support her and her family (in fairness she had seven children, only two survived in to adulthood- some were thought to have died of malnutrition).
So despite her position in court, she ended up dying in poverty.
Her legacy (if that is any constellation prize) is that she helped women artists step out of the shadows in which they were confined and enter the world of men artists of the time as public figures. She is not someone we talk about a lot- but, an impressive woman in 17th century Spain.