Costantino Barbella (January 31, 1853 in

Chieti Chieti (, ; , nap, label= Abruzzese, Chjïétë, ; gr, Θεάτη, Theátē; lat, Theate, ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Central Italy, east by northeast of Rome. It is the capital of the province of Chieti in the Abruzzo region. ...

– December 5, 1925) was an Italian sculptor, known as ''il Michetti della scultura''. He began his career by modeling

terracotta Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based ceramic glaze, unglazed or glazed ceramic where the pottery firing, fired body is porous. In applied art, craft, construction, a ...

figurines for churches and

Nativity Scene In the Christianity, Christian tradition, a nativity scene (also known as a manger scene, crib, crèche ( or ), or in Italian language, Italian ''presepio'' or ''presepe'', or Bethlehem) is the special exhibition, particularly during the Christ ...

s (Presepe). In 1872,

Francesco Paolo Michetti Francesco Paolo Michetti (October 2, 1851 – March 5, 1929) was an Italian painter known especially for his genre works. Biography He was born in Tocco da Casauria in the Province of Chieti. His father having died when he was a boy, Michetti ...

encouraged him to use stipend from the province to study at the Istituto di Belle Arti in Naples. He studied there with Stanislao Lista. He was highly prolific in creating small terracotta and bronze statuary, much of it depicting country folk dancing or in animated movement. He also made a few portraits, including of Pope

Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-old ...

. His work was exhibited throughout Europe, commonly winning awards. He was named cavaliere dell' Order of Leopold II of Belgium, honorary professor of the

Istituto Reale di Belle Arti The Accademia di Belle Arti di Roma is a public tertiary academy of art in Rome, Italy. It was founded in the sixteenth century, but the present institution dates from the time of the unification of Italy and the capture of Rome by the Kingdom ...

in Naples, and honorary academician at the Istituto di Belle Arti di Bologna. Among his students was Argentinian sculptor

Lola Mora Dolores Candelaria Mora Vega (November 17, 1866 – June 7, 1936) known professionally as Lola Mora, was a sculptor born in San Miguel de Tucumán, in Argentina. She is known today as a rebel and a pioneer of women in her artistic field. Early ...

.Encyclopedia of Contemporary Latin American and Caribbean Cultures, edited by Daniel Balderston, Mike Gonzalez, Ana M. Lopez, 2002, page 994 The "Costantino Barbella" Museum of Art, is located in the Palazzo Martinetti Bianchi in

Works

References

1853 births 1925 deaths People from Chieti 20th-century Italian sculptors 20th-century Italian male artists 19th-century Italian sculptors Italian male sculptors Academic staff of the Accademia di Belle Arti di Napoli 19th-century Italian male artists {{Italy-sculptor-stub