Roldán, Pedro

▪ Spanish sculptor

born c. 1624, Antequera, Spain

died c. 1700, Sevilla

      Spanish sculptor, painter, and architect, best remembered for his work on the main altarpiece at La Caridad, Sevilla (Seville), designed by Simón de Pineda and polychromed by Juan Valdés Leal.

      After studying in Granada with Alonso de Mena, the father of the famous sculptor Pedro de Mena, Roldán moved in 1646 to Sevilla. From 1664 to 1672 he was director of sculpture at the Sevilla Academy, and from 1670 to 1675 he executed the sculpture for the altarpiece at La Caridad. Influential as a teacher, he trained his daughter Luisa, the only woman to be named Spanish royal sculptor (to King Charles II), and his grandson Pedro Duque Cornejo, a leading sculptor in the first half of the 18th century.

      Very much an artist of the late Baroque, Roldán attempted to cross the boundaries of the different arts in order to combine painting, sculpture, and architecture in a theatrical unity. His work on the altarpiece at La Caridad is a fine example of his gift for bringing the arts together.

* * *