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Polychrome terracotta. Bibliography: - Pleguezuelo HernAndez, A., “Ecstasy of MarIa Magdalena. A new "jewel" by Luisa RoldAn”, Ars Magazine: Magazine of art and collecting, no. 33, 2016, pp. 66-74. Reference bibliography: - GarcIa Olloqui, MV, La Roldana: Chamber Sculptor, Seville, 2003; - GarcIa Olloqui, MV, Luisa RoldAn, La Roldana. New biography, Seville, 2000; VV.AA., Roldana, exhibition catalogue, Seville, 2007; - Lenaghan, P. “Luisa RoldAn's Carreer in Madrid: intimate Materpieces in Terracota”, in Bray, X. (ed). Luisa RoldAn Court Sculptor to the Kings of Spain. Madrid: Coll & CortEs, 2016, p. 22. Daughter of the sculptor Pedro RoldAn, MarIa Luisa RoldAn, popularly known as “La Roldana”, trained in her father's workshop, continuing with her profession and achieving great fame in her time, as one of the main figures in sculpture. in the last decades of the 17th century and the first years of the 18th century. The recognition of her, since the first biography written by Antonio Palomino, has been perpetuated until the current era, both for holding the privilege of being the first registered Spanish sculptor, and for the extraordinary plastic quality that her works possess. Her professional activity was carried out in three cities: her native Seville, where she carried out her first works in her father's workshop and, since she married in 1671, as an independent sculptor; CAdiz, where she moved in 1686 to attend to different assignments for the municipal corporation and the cathedral chapter; and, finally, Madrid, where she lived until her death in 1706 and worked as a chamber sculptor for the monarchs Charles II and Philip V. This delicate polychrome terracotta piece representing the Ecstasy of Saint Mary Magdalene, belongs to this last stage of its production, developed at court, in which Luisa RoldAn made a notable set of devotional groups in fired clay popularly known as “alhajas”; a nomenclature that was already used in her time due to the formal features of a precious nature that characterize this type of work, similar to those of jewelry or ornaments. The work, from a private collection, was made known a few years ago, when it was published in the magazine Ars Magazine, by Dr. Alfonso Pleguezuelo, who put it in relation to the copy that, with the same theme, is kept in the Hispanic Society of New York. The two sculptures are similar in their exquisite and detailed treatment, but they present an obvious difference: the number of characters, since in the American example there are two young angels who assist the saint in her mystical journey,while in this one there is only one; a fact that forced the sculptor to slightly modify the position of some figures. Both share the same treatment in the polychrome of the carnations and the same delicate and rhythmic chromatic palette that is common to the rest of the author's known sets of these characteristics. In them she uses brushstrokes of liquid gold, such as in the hair of some figures or in certain fabrics with the aim of giving them greater sumptuousness. The elements that concern the landscape in which the scene takes place, in contrast, receive a much more naturalistic treatment in which various shades of ocher ranges and shadows are used. Its fine modeling and the delicate treatment that permeates the entire composition make this “jewelry” of La Roldana a particularly attractive piece for collecting, an example of the talent of this famous sculptor and her great skill and sensitivity. Measurements: 22 x 31 x 24 cm.