José Rodríguez de la Oliva was a Spanish

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

of the 18th-century from

San Cristóbal de La Laguna San Cristóbal de La Laguna (commonly known as La Laguna, ) is a city and municipality in the northern part of the island of Tenerife in the Province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, on the Canary Islands, Spain. The city is the third-most populous ci ...

Tenerife Tenerife (; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands. It is home to 43% of the total population of the archipelago. With a land area of and a population of 978,100 inhabitants as of Janu ...

. He was one of the most important sculptors of the Canary Islands. He was known as "''El Moño''" (''The Top Knot'').

Biography

He was born on 15 December 1695 in the city of

(

).La personalidad artística de D. José Rodríguez de la Oliva (1695-1777)
/ref> Among his sculptures highlights the image of Our Lady of Remedios, in the ''Parish of San Marcos'' in Tegueste. In terms of silverware includes the design of the Custody of the ''Church of Santo Domingo'' in La Laguna. Also really stand out as effigies representing the

Virgin of Candelaria The Virgin of Candelaria or Our Lady of Candle ( es, Virgen de Candelaria or ''Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria''), popularly called ''La Morenita'', celebrates the Virgin Mary on the island of Tenerife, one of the Canary Islands (Spain). The cent ...

(patron saint of the Canary Islands) and the Virgin of the Pine. In the ''Royal Convent of Our Lady of Candelaria'' site in the town of Candelaria in

(next to the

Basilica of Candelaria The Basilica of the Royal Marian Shrine of Our Lady of Candelaria ( es, Basílica y Real Santuario Mariano de Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria or simply ''Basílica de la Candelaria'') is a Roman Catholic minor basilica, the first Marian shrine ...

), include images representing St. Dominic,

St. Catherine of Siena Catherine of Siena (Italian: ''Caterina da Siena''; 25 March 1347 – 29 April 1380), a member of the Third Order of Saint Dominic, was a mystic, activist, and author who had a great influence on Italian literature and on the Catholic Church. ...

and St. Peter of Verona taken by him. José Rodríguez de la Oliva also made a portrait "Post mortem" of ''The Servant of God'', Sor Mary of Jesus de León y Delgado. It is also known that he made a portrait in life of the corsair

Amaro Pargo Amaro Rodríguez-Felipe y Tejera Machado (3 May 16784 October 1747), better known as Amaro Pargo (), was a famous Spanish corsair. He was one of the most renowned corsairs in Spain of the Golden Age of Piracy. He was noted for his commercia ...

, although this work is missing today.“Amaro Pargo no fue un pirata, ni el Robin Hood de Canarias”
/ref> José Rodríguez de la Oliva died on 27 November 1777 in his hometown of San Cristóbal de La Laguna. He was buried in the former ''Parish of Our Lady of Remedios'', now Cathedral of San Cristóbal de La Laguna. It is considered one of the three great artists of

sacred art Religious art is artistic imagery using religious inspiration and motifs and is often intended to uplift the mind to the spiritual. Sacred art involves the ritual and cultic practices and practical and operative aspects of the path of the spiritu ...

of Tenerife with Fernando Estévez and Cristóbal Hernández de Quintana. In addition, José Rodríguez de la Oliva was one of the most lavish painters and sculptors in the history of the Canary Islands.

Other data

In addition to his artistic side, José Rodríguez de la Oliva was an important military. On 6 June 1743 he was declared by royal decree ''Lieutenant in the Regiment of Outsiders'' and on 4 December 1747 reached the rank of ''Captain'' by royal patent.

References

Spanish sculptors Spanish male sculptors People from San Cristóbal de La Laguna 18th-century Spanish people Artists from the Canary Islands {{Spain-sculptor-stub