The artists behind the polychrome sculpture

As part of an extensive research effort by the J. Paul Getty Museum into the design and construction of the polychrome sculpture Saint Ginés de la Jara (shown below), researchers made an important distinction in identifying not just the artist who sculpted the work as Luisa Roldán (1652–1706), but also the painter of the sculpture as Tomás de los Arcos (born 1661). De los Arcos was Roldán’s brother-in-law and collaborator in her studio. Their unique partnership produced some of the greatest surviving Spanish polychrome sculptures ever made.

It was typical throughout 17th-century Europe for artists to work collaboratively in workshops, and there were many well-known printmaking, weaving, painting, and sculpting studios. Among them was the workshop of Pedro Roldán (1624–1699), who was revered as one of the greatest sculptors in Seville, Spain, during his time. He employed his children as well as other apprentices, and all of them were trained in every aspect of art making, including drawing, painting, and sculpting. Six of Pedro Roldán’s eleven children went on to become successful painters and sculptors in their own right. His daughter, Luisa Roldán, was among them. She lived and worked for most of her life in Seville, which is located in Andalusia, a southern region of Spain.

Popularly known as "La Roldana," Luisa Roldán was truly unique in that female artists of her time very rarely operated their own workshops or were recognized by the state for their talents. She managed to do both in her relatively short but prolific career, ultimately achieving some of the highest honors attainable as a 17th-century artist.

When she was just 19 years old, La Roldana set out on her own path, leaving her family home and workshop to marry Luis Antonio de Los Arcos, another former apprentice in Pedro Roldán’s studio. La Roldana opened her own studio where she was the lead artist, and hired her husband’s brother Tomás de los Arcos as her painter. Her husband Luis mainly assisted with running the studio.

Tomás de los Arcos was specially trained as a polychromer, or painter of wood. At that time painters were formally trained and tested in various techniques in order to be qualified as polychromers. De los Arcos was highly skilled at painting flesh tones on wood (encarnados) and painting with gold leaf (dorados) in elaborate patterns (estofados). La Roldana and de los Arcos rose to prominence as a collaborative team, creating many sculptures commissioned by monasteries and other civic institutions.

At age 36, La Roldana traveled with her family to Madrid. There she produced a large sculpture of Saint Michael to present to the King of Spain, Charles II (1661–1700). Charles II subsequently appointed La Roldana as the escultor de cámara (sculptor to the royal chamber) in 1692. She made many life-size wooden sculptures like Saint Ginés de la Jara while serving under King Charles II. After his death in 1700, La Roldana served King Phillip V (1683–1746) until her passing in 1706. On the day of her death, January 19, 1706, La Roldana was granted the highest honors for any artist of her time, the title of Accademica di Merito (Academician of Merit) by the Academy of Saint Luke in Rome, Italy.