Roque Balduque (or Roque de Balduque) (died February 1561) was a sculptor and maker of

altarpiece An altarpiece is a painting or sculpture, including relief, of religious subject matter made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting or sculpture, ...

s. Born at an unknown date in Bois-le-Duc (now

's-Hertogenbosch s-Hertogenbosch (), colloquially known as Den Bosch (), is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands with a population of 160,783. It is the capital of ...

, capital of

North Brabant North Brabant ( ; ), also unofficially called Brabant, Dutch Brabant or Hollandic Brabant, is a province in the south of the Netherlands. It borders the provinces of South Holland and Gelderland to the north, Limburg to the east, Zeeland to ...

the Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

), he is known for his work in

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

in the last years of his life. Roque Balduque1

Life

Balduque was married to a woman known as Isabel de Balduq; with a son, they settled in

Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...

in 1534. He is documented in 1554 as a carver and sculptor (''"entallador e imaxinero"'') who has brought new

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

and Flemish concepts to Seville. His presumed relatives Juan Mateo, Pedro, Diego, and Andrés Bolduque had a sculptural studio on

Medina de Rioseco Medina de Rioseco is a municipality located in the province of Valladolid, in the autonomous community of Castile and León and Spain. According to a 2011 census ( INE), the municipality has a population of 4,967 inhabitants. The city also has t ...

(

province of Valladolid Valladolid () is a province of northwest Spain, in the central part of the autonomous community of Castile and León. It has a population of 525,398 across a total of 225 municipalities, an area of , meaning a population density of 64.77 people ...

), where they executed various projects for churches in and around

Valladolid Valladolid ( ; ) is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and ''de facto'' capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the pr ...

and

Palencia Palencia () is a city of Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the province of Palencia. Located in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula, in the northern half of ...

. Beginning in December 1554, Balduque began an important series of sculptures and altarpieces for parish churches in Seville, which accommodated two kinds of Marian images, ranging in style from Nordic primitivism to Flemish

Mannerism Mannerism is a style in European art that emerged in the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520, spreading by about 1530 and lasting until about the end of the 16th century in Italy, when the Baroque style largely replaced it ...

. In Seville, he settled in the working-class neighborhood of La Magdalena. After his death in February 1561, his widow entrusted his uncompleted projects to the Flemish sculptor Juan Giralte.

Known and attributed works

Balduque collaborated on the main altarpiece of the

Cathedral of Seville The Cathedral of Saint Mary of the See (), better known as Seville Cathedral (), is a Catholic cathedral and former mosque in Seville, Andalusia, Spain. It was registered in 1987 by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, along with the adjoining Alc� ...

and, after that, the main altarpiece of the Church of Saint John the Baptist in Chiclana. In 1554 he contracted for the sacramental altarpiece of the Parish Church of Santa María la Coronada in

Medina Sidonia Medina Sidonia is a city and municipality in the province of Cádiz in the autonomous community of Andalusia, southern Spain. Considered by some to be the oldest city in Europe, it is used as a military defence location because of its elevation. ...

(

Province of Cádiz Cádiz is a Provinces of Spain, province of southern Spain, in the southwestern part of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. It is the southernmost part of mainland Spain, as well as the southernmost part of ...

). Five reliefs on the upper level of the altarpiece are his originals, as is the

Calvary Calvary ( or ) or Golgotha () was a site immediately outside Jerusalem's walls where, according to Christianity's four canonical gospels, Jesus was crucified. Since at least the early medieval period, it has been a destination for pilgrimage. ...

at the top, which his will mentions had been completed. Roque Balduque2

His most notable

mannerist Mannerism is a style in European art that emerged in the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520, spreading by about 1530 and lasting until about the end of the 16th century in Italy, when the Baroque style largely replaced it ...

works are ''Nuestra Señora Reina de Todos los Santos'' ("Our Lady, Queen of All the Saints") and ''Nuestra Señora del Amparo'' ("Our Lady of Amparo"). The former is the

patroness Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, art patronage refers to the support that princes, popes, and other wealthy and influential people ...

of the La Feria neighborhood of Seville, and presides over the basilical

baldachin A baldachin, or baldaquin (from ), is a canopy of state typically placed over an altar or throne. It had its beginnings as a cloth canopy, but in other cases it is a sturdy, permanent Architecture, architectural feature, particularly over Alta ...

of the Parish of Omnium Sanctorum. Balduque sculpted in 1554 and sold it to the penitential

confraternity A confraternity (; ) is generally a Christian voluntary association of laypeople created for the purpose of promoting special works of Christian charity or piety, and approved by the Church hierarchy. They are most common among Catholics, Lu ...

of the same name, the Hermandad de Nuestra Señora Reina de Todos los Santos, for 23

ducat The ducat ( ) coin was used as a trade coin in Europe from the later Middle Ages to the 19th century. Its most familiar version, the gold ducat or sequin containing around of 98.6% fine gold, originated in Venice in 1284 and gained wide inter ...

s. The latter resides in the Church of Saint Mary Magdalene in Seville, and is associated with a penitential confraternity of the same name, the Hermandad de Nuestra Señora del Amparo. It is one of the few processional sculptures that have a variety of garments: there is one each in red, green, sky blue, and salmon pink. It is also one of the few such sculptures associated both with a confraternity and with a parish. Between 1554 and 1556, Balduque also made sculptures and altarpieces for the Sevillian parishes of San Lorenzo, San Román, Santa Marina, San Gil, San Nicolás, San Vicente and San Juan de la Palma. Also in Seville are several other processional sculptures of his, all of the

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

, among them the ''Virgen de la Granada'' in the parish of San Lorenzo and the ''Virgen de la Rosa'' in the parish of San Vicente. Another work attributed to Roque Balduque or pertaining to your work environment is the valuable statue of Our Lady of Light that venerates in the

Cathedral of San Cristóbal de La Laguna The Cathedral of San Cristóbal de La Laguna or ( in Spanish) is a Catholic Church, Catholic church architecture, church in Tenerife, Spain. Constructed between 1904 and 1915 to replace an earlier building begun in 1515 and designated a cathedral ...

Tenerife Tenerife ( ; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands, an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. With a land area of and a population of 965,575 inhabitants as of A ...

(

).La Virgen de la Luz de la Catedral de La Laguna (Tenerife) en el arte sevillano del siglo XVI
In the

Cathedral of Lima The Basilica Cathedral of Lima, commonly known as the Metropolitan Cathedral of Lima, and formerly the Iglesia Metropolitana de los Reyes, is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Lima, Peru. It is the seat of the Archdiocese of Lima. Its construction b ...

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

is the image of Our Lady of Evangelization, Patroness of the

Archdiocese of Lima The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lima () is part of the Catholic Church in Peru which enjoys full communion with the Holy See. The Archdiocese was founded as the ''Diocese of Lima'' on 14 May 1541. The diocese was raised to the level of a metr ...

, also made by Roque Balduque.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Balduque, Roque Year of birth unknown 1561 deaths Early Netherlandish sculptors Flemish sculptors (before 1830) 16th-century Spanish sculptors Spanish male sculptors Renaissance sculptors Catholic sculptors