BIANCHI BARRIVIERA Lino

Lino Bianchi Barriviera (Montebelluna, 1906–1985) was an Italian painter and engraver, a leading figure in twentieth-century graphic art. His work includes landscapes, architecture, urban views, and artworks inspired by journeys around the Mediterranean and in East Africa. Particularly important is the series devoted to the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela, Ethiopia, created following a study expedition in the late 1930s. Through etching, he developed a style characterized by precise linework, attention to light, and a sensitivity to architectural structures. Alongside his artistic work, he played a key role in teaching engraving at the Academies of Fine Arts in Naples and Rome.

Training between Montebelluna and Florence

Lino Bianchi Barriviera was born on September 3, 1906, in Montebelluna, in the province of Treviso. At his family's urging, he pursued technical studies, completing them in Florence in 1927. At the same time, he developed a growing interest in drawing and art. In 1925, he began engraving, attending the studio of Raoul Dal Molin Ferenzona. L'experience contributed to the development of a graphic sensibility attentive to precision of line and image composition.

His technical training would also prove particularly important in his later works devoted to architecture.

Early engravings and the Veneto landscape

Between 1927 and 1929, he lived in Treviso, developing a body of work rooted in the local area and urban environments. He collaborated with the magazine Illustrazione Trevigiana and took part in local exhibitions. His early engravings show an interest in depicting landscapes, buildings, and architectural views. He used line to create relationships between light and shadow, conveying the texture of surfaces. L'artist does not limit himself to describing places.

He seeks to highlight their character through the arrangement of forms and the atmospheric quality of the image.

The 1927 trip to Libya

In 1927, Bianchi Barriviera made his first trip to Libya. L'experience broadened his visual repertoire, introducing landscapes and architecture different from those found in Italy. His encounters with Mediterranean and North African environments helped develop his interest in built forms and the effects of light. His depictions of landscapes took on a documentary character while retaining an independent artistic dimension. The views are not mere topographical records.

Through engraved lines, the artist interprets the relationship between architecture and the environment.

Venice and the development of an engraving style

In 1932, he moved to Venice, where he attended the engraving school at the Academy of Fine Arts as a guest. L'experience in Venice allowed him to deepen his graphic research and engage with an important printmaking tradition. The city also offered a wealth of architecture, canals, and views that suited his sensibility. L'attention to the structure of buildings combined with an interest in atmospheric effects. In 1934, he moved to Rome, further expanding his connections with the artistic and institutional world.

The second trip to Libya and the portfolio of engravings

In 1937, Bianchi Barriviera returned to Libya. From this trip, he produced a portfolio of thirteen engravings. The series demonstrates the importance of travel in shaping his visual repertoire. The images focus on places, architecture, and settings observed firsthand. The landscape is interpreted through a rigorous graphic structure.

The presence of buildings and open spaces allows the artist to explore the relationship between volumes and light. This experience prepared him for the subsequent expedition to Ethiopia, which would become one of the most important episodes of his career.

The expedition to Ethiopia and the churches of Lalibela

Between 1938 and 1939, Lino Bianchi Barriviera took part in a study mission to Ethiopia. He accompanied archaeologist Monti Della Corte on an expedition to the Lasta region, where he was tasked with documenting the twelve monolithic churches of Lalibela. This is an extraordinary architectural complex, consisting of religious buildings carved directly into the rock. L'artista created surveys and studies to document the structures. L'experience brought together artistic observation and architectural precision.

The churches are depicted through views, sections, plans, and decorative details. The complexity of the architecture provides an opportunity to develop a particularly rigorous graphic style.

The Lalibela cycle and the 1957 edition

Work on the Ethiopian churches continued even after his return to Italy. In 1957, an edition bringing together engravings, plans, sections, axonometric drawings, and decorative details was completed. The project is one of the most significant achievements of his career. The images have clear documentary value, but they also demonstrate the artist's ability to interpret complex architectural structures. The rock surfaces, openings, and volumes are rendered through a network of marks that conveys depth and texture.

The Lalibela cycle represents a meeting point between artistic research, archaeology, and architectural history.

The War Painters and the 1940s

Between 1940 and 1943, Bianchi Barriviera took part in the War Painters group at the invitation of the Ministry of the Navy. L'This experience took place in the context of the Second World War and official initiatives to document the conflict through art. L'The artist continued to use drawing and printmaking as tools of observation. His work thus spanned a complex historical period in which the relationship between art and institutions took on particular significance.

L'Teaching in Naples and Rome

In 1937, Bianchi Barriviera was appointed professor of printmaking at the Academy of Fine Arts of Naples. From 1950 to 1954, he served as director of the institution. In 1956, he was appointed to teach printmaking at the Academy of Fine Arts of Rome, where he remained until 1976. L'teaching played a fundamental role in his career. L'artist helped train new generations of printmakers, passing on an in-depth knowledge of graphic art.

After retiring from academia, he also led an engraving course for burin engravers at the State Printing Works and Mint.

Graphic artworks and the Relationship with Architecture

Bianchi Barriviera's work includes etchings, drawings, paintings, and decorative projects. Landscape and architecture remain key subjects. His images stand out for the precision with which buildings, perspectives, and spatial relationships are constructed. Light helps highlight the structure of surfaces. His views are not without personal interpretation: the line can emphasize a building's monumentality or suggest the atmosphere of a place.

This combination of rigor and sensitivity makes his work distinctive.

The Final Years and Artistic Legacy

In his later years, Bianchi Barriviera also turned to writing. In 1984, he published L'Original Printmaking and Printing, a volume that brings together his experience as an artist and teacher. He died on August 14, 1985. The Benetton Foundation for Studies and Research preserves an important archival collection documenting his life and artistic output. The collection includes correspondence, photographs, catalogs, study materials, and printing plates.

L's legacy is tied to his ability to bring together graphic research, observation of the landscape, and the study of architecture. The Lalibela series is a particularly significant testament to this journey, in which printmaking becomes a tool for artistic interpretation and cultural memory.