Raffaele Monti (often misspelled Rafaelle or Raffaelle; Milan 1818–1881) was an Italian sculptor, author and

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

. Born in

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

or Iseo, he studied under his father, the noted sculptor Gaetano Matteo Monti, in the Imperial Academy. At the age of only 20, he was invited to

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

where he received extensive patronage; he returned to

after two years. In 1846, Monti travelled to England for the year and later settled there. Monti exhibited at the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...

, and soon earned recognition as a leading sculptor with his piece for the 6th Duke of Devonshire, the " Veiled Vestal" (1847), a figure with illusionistic veil, a specialism of his. A bust based on this work and cast in Parian porcelain by Copeland, entitled "The Bride" but often known as "The Veiled Bride", was issued in 1861 by the Crystal Palace Art Union. This became one of the most popular Parian busts ever produced. Monti produced sculptures in

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...

, but also created in metals and

porcelain Porcelain (), also called china, is a ceramic material made by heating Industrial mineral, raw materials, generally including kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The greater strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to oth ...

, while remaining active in the

applied arts The applied arts are all the arts that apply design and decoration to everyday and essentially practical objects in order to make them aesthetically pleasing."Applied art" in ''The Oxford Dictionary of Art''. Online edition. Oxford Univ ...

Works

*""La Donna Velata" (bust) 1845 Castle of Racconigi *"Veiled Vestal" 1847 Chatsworth House . *"A Circassian Slave in the Market Place at Constantinople" 1850 Wallace Collection. *"Sister Anglers" in Carrara marble displayed at The Great Exhibition in London 1851 *"Cupid" and "Modesty", a pair, 1853: davidwilsonfineart.com *"Veritas" 1853 Medeiros e Almeida Museum Medeiros de Almeida Foundation,

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

. *"River Thames" 1854 St John's Lock on the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

below Lechlade Originally for the fountains at The Crystal Palace Sydenham *"La Donna Velata" (The Veiled Woman) 1854

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...

*Proscenium Arch 1858 Royal Opera House *" Charles Stewart, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry 1858 Market Place, Durham .Durham, DUDU04, Statue, Monument to Third Marquis of Londonderry">Durham, DUDU04, Statue, Monument to Third Marquis of Londonderry
*"Veiled Lady" (bust) 1860 Minneapolis Institute of Arts *"The Sleep of Sorrow and the Dream of Joy" 1861

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...

*"The Mother" 1871 Potteries Museum & Art Gallery (Also produced in Parian by Copeland) *"Night" 1862 Parian figure produced by Copeland *"Morning" 1862 Parian figure produced by Copeland

Picture gallery

File:Veiled Vestal by Raffaelle Monti.jpg, '' Veiled Vestal'' ca 1848. Now at Chatsworth House. File:Father Thames, St John's Lock, Lechlade.jpg, Father

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after th ...

ca. 1853, at St John's Lock, Lechlade File:Veritas raffaelle monti.jpg, Veritas ca 1853. From plaster original at the Crystal Palace Sydenham estroyed 1936File:CWVStewart.jpg, Charles Vane, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry ca 1861 at Durham. File:Raffaelle Monti-The Sleep of Sorrow and the Dream of Joy-Victoria and Albert Museum.jpg, The Sleep of Sorrow and the Dream of Joy ca. 1862.

File:Raffaele Monti, Bustes de femme voilée.jpg, Busts of Women Voil - Around 1860 - Marble - Musée des Ursulines - Mâcon

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Monti, Raffaele (artist) 1818 births 1881 deaths Artists from Milan Emigrants from the Austrian Empire to the United Kingdom Artists from London Sculptors from the Austrian Empire British sculptors