Rinaldo Barbetti (29 March 1830 1904) was an Italian

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 ...

, designer and illustrator. He created designs with different art mediums such as leather, gold and wood.

Early life

Barbetti was born 29 March 1830 in

Siena Siena ( , ; traditionally spelled Sienna in English; ) is a city in Tuscany, in central Italy, and the capital of the province of Siena. It is the twelfth most populated city in the region by number of inhabitants, with a population of 52,991 ...

, Italy. When he was ten years old he was working as a

goldsmith A goldsmith is a Metalworking, metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Modern goldsmiths mainly specialize in jewelry-making but historically, they have also made cutlery, silverware, platter (dishware), plat ...

. In 1841 the Barbetti family moved to

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

and he worked with his father who was a successful wood carver. His father Angelo Barbetti ran one of the most successful

Wood carving Wood carving (or woodcarving) is a form of woodworking by means of a cutting tool (knife) in one hand or a chisel by two hands or with one hand on a chisel and one hand on a mallet, resulting in a wooden figure or figurine, or in the sculpture, ...

shops doing work for wealthy Europeans, including Anatoly Demidov and the

Rothschild family The Rothschild family ( , ) is a wealthy Ashkenazi Jews, Ashkenazi Jewish noble banking family originally from Frankfurt. The family's documented history starts in 16th-century Frankfurt; its name is derived from the family house, Rothschild, ...

. The Barbetti's also exhibited their work in competitions and won two medals at the

1851 Great Exhibition The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, also known as the Great Exhibition or the Crystal Palace Exhibition (in reference to the temporary structure in which it was held), was an international exhibition that took ...

in London: for furniture and sculpture. At night he Rinaldo Barbetti worked as an apprenticed under designer Ulysses Owens carving picture frames.

Career

Barbetti was considered one of the leading artists in Florence, Italy. He was called on to produce artwork throughout Florence. He worked with stamped leather in the Villa Paolina. He was also an expert engraver and was known for the precision of his work. He did work on the facade of the Florentine Duomo. In Florence, 1900 he was commissioned by Desiderio Chilovi, to create an urn for the poet

Dante's Dante's is a nightclub and live music venue in Portland, Oregon. The venue, located along West Burnside Street and owned by Frank Faillace, hosts a variety of acts ranging from burlesque to rock music. Dante's is housed in an unreinforced mason ...

ashes, or what was referred to as "Dante's dust". Barbetti designed the urn but it is not known if he ever created it. The urn has never been found and there are no pictures of it. His design was also used on the

Italian lira The lira ( , ; : lire, , ) was the currency of Italy between 1861 and 2002. It was introduced by the Kingdom of Italy (Napoleonic), Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy in 1807 at par with the French franc, and was subsequently adopted by the different s ...

currency for the 1943 banknote known as the Grande M or Mille Lire. In 1876 Barbetti renovated the giant

Apennine Colossus The Apennine Colossus () is a stone statue, approximately 11 meters high, in the estate of the Villa Demidoff in Vaglia, Tuscany, Italy. Giambologna (Flemish sculptor Jean de Boulogne) created the colossal figure, a personification of the Apen ...

statue. The woodwork in the library of Les Ambassadeurs Club was completed in the Florentine studios of Rinaldo Barbetti.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barbetti, Rinaldo 1830 births 1904 deaths Italian sculptors People from Siena Italian goldsmiths