Eli Kirk Price Room
Main Building
Cathy Hall-van den Elsen recounts the story of the developing recognition of Luisa Roldán (1652-1706), a woman now recognised as one of the most significant sculptors of Spain’s early modern period. Although she was acknowledged by her contemporaries for her achievements in wood and terracotta, her name fell into obscurity for more than three centuries. In the latter half of the twentieth century scholars began to examine her known works, resulting in a growing understanding of the complexities of her practice. Discoveries are still being made today, resulting in new acquisitions by museums in Europe and the United States. One such acquisition is the terracotta Virgin with the Sleeping Christ Child, now in the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Things to Know:
- This is a hybrid program. Registration required for the virtual program.
- Limited seating.
- There will be time for a Q&A at the end of the program.
- The program will be recorded. A link to the recording will be sent to everyone who registers for the virtual component of the program.
About the Speaker:
Cathy Hall-van den Elsen studied Spanish art at La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia, completing her Ph.D (1992) on the life and work of Luisa Roldán.
After a period working outside art history Cathy returned to scholarship in 2005, contributing the introductory chapter to the exhibition catalogue Roldana published by the Consejeria de Cultura in Seville in 2007. In 2018 Cathy published a monograph in Spanish: Fuerza e Intimismo: Luisa Roldán, escultora (1652-1706), (Madrid, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)). Her annotated bibliography on Luisa Roldán was published in 2020 by Oxford Bibliographies Online, and in 2021 Lund Humphries and Getty Publications produced Luisa Roldán, a monograph in English.
Cathy’s study of sixteen women artists: Gender and the Woman Artist in Early Modern Iberia was published by Routledge in 2024. In that year CSIC published a revised second edition of the Spanish monograph with a revised title: Luisa Roldán, escultora: Fuerza e Intimismo.
She is currently working on a catalogue raisonné of the sculptor´s works with Holly Trusted, formerly of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
The program is closed-captioned. Contact publicprograms@philamuseum.org regarding other accommodation requests.