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 ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wri ...
.
Born in
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
, he studied under his father, the noted sculptor
Gaetano Matteo Monti
Gaetano Matteo Monti (13 March 1776 in Ravenna – 27 May 1847 in Milan) was an Italian sculptor, working in the Neoclassical style.
He studied in Bologna and Rome and then moved to Milan, where he worked on Milan Cathedral (Duomo de Milano)It ...
, in the Imperial Academy. At the age of only 20, he was invited to
Vienna
en, Viennese
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, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
where he received extensive patronage; he returned to
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
after two years.
In 1846, Monti travelled to England for the year and later settled there. Monti exhibited at the
Royal Academy, and soon earned recognition as a leading sculptor with his piece for the 6th
Duke of Devonshire, the "Veiled Vestal", 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 composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Marble is typically not foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the term ''marble'' refers to metamorphose ...
, but also created in metals and
porcelain
Porcelain () is a ceramic material made by heating substances, generally including materials such as kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to other types of pottery, arises main ...
, 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
The Wallace Collection is a museum in London occupying Hertford House in Manchester Square, the former townhouse of the Seymour family, Marquesses of Hertford. It is named after Sir Richard Wallace, who built the extensive collection, along ...
.
*"Cupid" and "Modesty", a pair, 1853:
davidwilsonfineart.com
*"Veritas" 1853 Medeiros e Almeida Museum
Medeiros de Almeida Foundation,
Lisbon,
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
.
*"River Thames" 1854
St John's Lock on the
River 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 the R ...
below
Lechlade
Lechlade () is a town at the southern edge of the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, England, south of Birmingham and west of London. It is the highest point at which the River Thames is navigable, although there is a right of navigation that contin ...
Originally for the fountains at
The Crystal Palace
The Crystal Palace was a cast iron and plate glass structure, originally built in Hyde Park, London, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. The exhibition took place from 1 May to 15 October 1851, and more than 14,000 exhibitors from around th ...
Sydenham
*"La Donna Velata" (The Veiled Woman) 1854
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
*Proscenium Arch 1858
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Ope ...
*"
Charles Stewart, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry
Charles William Vane, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry, (born Charles William Stewart; 1778–1854), was an Anglo-Irish nobleman, a British soldier and a politician. He served in the French Revolutionary Wars, in the suppression of the Irish Reb ...
1858 Market Place,
Durham Durham most commonly refers to:
*Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham
*County Durham, an English county
* Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States
*Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...
.
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 Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia) is an arts museum located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. Home to more than 90,000 works of art representing 5,000 years of world history, Mia is one of the largest art museums in the United Stat ...
*"The Sleep of Sorrow and the Dream of Joy" 1861 Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...
*"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 the R ...
ca. 1853, at St John's Lock, Lechlade
Lechlade () is a town at the southern edge of the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, England, south of Birmingham and west of London. It is the highest point at which the River Thames is navigable, although there is a right of navigation that contin ...
File:Veritas raffaelle monti.jpg, Veritas ca 1853. From plaster original at the Crystal Palace
The Crystal Palace was a cast iron and plate glass structure, originally built in Hyde Park, London, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. The exhibition took place from 1 May to 15 October 1851, and more than 14,000 exhibitors from around th ...
Sydenham estroyed 1936File:CWVStewart.jpg, Charles Vane, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry ca 1861 at Durham Durham most commonly refers to:
*Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham
*County Durham, an English county
* Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States
*Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...
.
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. Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...
File:Raffaele Monti, Bustes de femme voilée.jpg, Busts of Women Voil - Around 1860 - Marble - Musée des Ursulines - Mâcon
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Monti, Raffaele
1818 births
1881 deaths
Artists from Milan
Italian emigrants to the United Kingdom
Artists from London
19th-century Italian sculptors
Italian male sculptors
19th-century Italian male artists