Louisa Ignacia Roldán

• Louisa Ignacia Roldán, known to the art world as Spain's first female sculptor of the Baroque era, was born in Seville in 1656 (died in 1704) as the third daughter of the famous sculptor Piedro Roldán. The entire Roldán family assisted in the production of their father's sculptures, but only Louisa had the gift, the skill, the insight to become a sculptor in her own right, and to be receive credit for her assistance under the name "La Roldána".

• This talent, this flair for sculpture, made Louisa the only person truly worthy of inheriting her father's sculpting dynasty. But this was not to be, as in 1671, she married Luis Antonio Navarro De Los Arcos against the wishes of her parents. A sculptor and artist himself, Luis was responsible for painting Louisa's sculptures in their rich, vibrant hues.

• Her marriage led to her becoming an independent sculptor, and in 1686 she moved with Luis to Cadiz. Here she was commissioned to create a number of sculptures by the Cathedral Chapter house, which included the figures of six Angels, seven different Virtues, and four Prophets. Just one year later, in 1687, the city of Cadiz requested that La Roldána sculpt two statues of the patron saints of Cadiz, Saint Germanus and Saint Servandus; these statues had been designed by her father, but the sculpting and painting of them was done by Louisa and Luis.

Louisa Ignacia Roldán, Saint Ginés de la Jara (polychromed wood with glass eyes), (c.1692)

• In 1688 they moved again, this time to the capital city of Madrid. Here Louisa petitioned King Charles II for the position of Court Sculptor, and was finally granted this in 1692. Sadly, Louisa was to receive no pay for this 'privilege', but was given in that year a commission to sculpt a statue of Saint Michael for the monastery of the Escurial; this was to be one of her finest works, with St Michael standing on the twisted naked body of Satan, his cloak flowing around him, arm raised and ready to strike his foe, a look of sadness on his face, of pity for his fallen enemy. This was her first work to be signed La Roldána, a title she only used after being appointed Court Sculptor.

• The lack of a salary from the court proved difficult for her though, and in 1697 she wrote twice to the Queen pleading for either clothing or a small amount of money to purchase food with; this was a bad time to be requesting assistance however, as Spain was suffering a severe economic crisis, and even the royal court was struggling to feed and clothe itself.

Louisa Ignacia Roldán, Rest on the Flight into Egypt (terracotta), (c.1680-1700)

• La Roldána passed through this bad time, and in 1701 she was re-affirmed as Court Sculptor when Philip V took the throne, despite the negative comments of the Marquez De Villafranca, who described her terracotta works as superb, but her wooden works as 'lacking distinction' and being 'very ordinary'. Her terracotta groups were unfairly criticised, in my opinion, and she submitted many to the king. Two of these, The mystical marriage of Saint Catherine and The death of Saint Mary Magdalene were sculptures of such beauty, and such rich colour, that they would only be matched when the secrets of sculpting and glazing in porcelain were perfected over 100 years later.

Louisa Ignacia Roldán, The Mystical Marriage of St. Catherine

• The baroque nature of her work, with its ornate decoration and bright colours, was ahead of its time, but La Roldána had no direct followers while she lived. She was, however, a huge influence on many of Madrids 18^th century sculptors.

Louisa Ignacia Roldán, Death of Mary Magdalene (terracotta), (c. 1675-1700)

• She left behind a legacy of emotive, flamboyant sculpture, virtually created the ornamental figurine as we know it today, and acted as an independent woman in a society where that was almost an act of heresy.

Rachel Ruysch

• The Netherlands in the 17^th century was the home of many gifted realist artists, but one of them intrigued me with the chosen subject of her paintings – flowers. Rachel Ruysch (born in Amsterdam, 3^rd June 1664 – died in Amsterdam, 12^th August 1750) was a Dutch baroque painter specialised in still-life paintings of flowers, the love for which she received from her father, Frederik Ruysch, a Professor of anatomy and botany.

Rachel Ruysch, Still-Life with Bouquet of Flowers and Plums

• She displayed artistic talent at an early age, and at 15 she was sent to study with Willem van Aelst, a famous Delft flower painter, from whom she learnt his asymmetric spiralling compositional style which she refined and made her own, and by 18 had produced a number of still-lives of plants and animals in woodland settings.

• It is believed her realist portrayal of animals and insects is due to her fathers collection of plant and animal specimens, which she studied in depth when painting. A deep knowledge of botany and zoology is evident in all her meticulous works, perhaps more so than any other painter of the Flemish movement. She also began to teach her sister to paint, but it seems that she lacked Rachel's natural talent, and only a copy of Abraham Mignons 'Woodland Scene with a Squirrel' is recorded as being her sister's work.

• As well as her commitment to her art, Rachel Ruysch was also committed to her family: in 1693 she married Juriaen Pool, a portrait painter, with whom she had 10 children, which didn't prevent Ruysch from painting extensively.

• She was introduced into the painters' guild in The Hague, and several years later, a summons to the court of Elector Palatine in Düsseldorf, Johann Wilhelm was received, and she and her husband spent the period from 1708-1716 as his court painters, returning to Holland when prince died.

• Ruysch kept painting until her death, leaving us with a considerable number of beautiful paintings which have never been subject to the changing fashions of the art world; demand for Ruysch's work was, and still is, high.

• When looking at her work, it is easy to see why she has remained popular. In Still Life of Flowers from 1689 her delicate brushwork captures the different textures of flower petals; her subtle and natural use of light creates depth and a feeling that the blooms can be picked from the canvas; and her almost photographic rendering of a Dragonfly and Butterfly resting on the flowers makes you feel that if you move too suddenly, they will take flight away from you. What also makes her paintings so attractive, and so remarkable for the age, are their informal composition, as well as the baroque lighting, with almost suffocating dark background and brightly lit foreground. When looked at alongside the works of Clara Peeters and other flower painters of the 17^th century, Rachel's paintings did not restrict themselves with small, symmetrical arrangements of flowers; she painted them as they grew, as they would look in the world of her audience, as living things with their own character.
  

Rachel Ruysch, Still Life of Flowers, (1689)

• It is this appreciation and understanding of the flow of the natural world that makes Rachel Ruysch a truly great artist, and it was her balancing of her duties as a wife and mother with the demands of her profession that made her a truly great female artist.