Pedro Roldán

Born: 1624

Death: 1699

Biography:

Pedro Roldán was a Baroque sculptor from Seville, Andalusia, Spain. His daughter Luisa Roldán, known as La Roldana, was also a major figure of Spanish Baroque sculpture.
Pedro Roldán was born in Seville in 1624, where he was baptized in the Church of the Sanctuary (Spanish: Iglesia del Sagrario) 14 January 1624, according to his certificate of baptism. It was believed for a time in the 20th century that he might have been born in Antequera (province of Málaga), because his family was from there and his older brother Marcos was born there, or alternatively that he could have been born in Orce (province of Granada), where his family lived for a time when Pedro was a child
At the age of fourteen, he moved to Granada where he apprenticed to Alonso de Mena. In 1642 he contracted marriage to Teresa de Jesús Ortega y Villavicencio, who was probably the niece of his master Alonso de Mena. There, in 1644, they had their first daughter, named María. In 1646, Alonso de Mena died, leaving Bernardo de Mora as the head of the studio; Roldán left for Seville. at this time, Juan Martínez Montañés was at the end of his career, presenting an opeining for Roldán's work.
In 1660 he began to teach classes in sculptural representation as a teacher at the Academy of Art founded by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo. In his last years, he established a large studio where he collaborated with members of his family (his children and sons-in-law) and his students. The studio designed and constructed altarpieces, sculpted and polychromed, undertaking projects in places as far-flung as Cádiz, Jerez de la Frontera, Córdoba and Jaén. He died in 1699, and was buried in the crypt of Saint Mark's Church (Iglesia de San Marcos) in Seville.
Besides Murillo, he was also closely connected to Juan de Valdés Leal.
With his wife Teresa de Jesús Ortega y Villavicencio, Roldán had eight children, all of whom worked closely with him in his studio.
Initially taught a naturalistic style, his imagery evolved in the direction of the Baroque, with a personal style as elegant as it was free in its form.
Entombment of Christ, Hospital de la Caridad, Seville.
Virgin of Charity (Virgen de la Caridad), Hospital de la Caridad.
Saint Roch, Hospital de la Caridad.
Saint Ann teaching the Virgin to read, Iglesia de Santa Cruz, Seville.

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