BIANCHI BARRIVIERA Lino

Lino Bianchi Barriviera (Montebelluna, 1906–1985) was an Italian painter and printmaker, a leading figure in 20th-century art printmaking. His work includes landscapes, architecture, urban views, and pieces inspired by journeys around the Mediterranean and to East Africa. Of particular importance is the series devoted to the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela, Ethiopia, which grew out of a study expedition in the late 1930s. Through etching, he developed a style characterized by precise lines, attention to light, and sensitivity to architectural structures. Alongside his artistic practice, he played a key role in teaching printmaking at the Academies of Fine Arts in Naples and Rome.

His education between Montebelluna and Florence

Lino Bianchi Barriviera is born on September 3, 1906, in Montebelluna, in the province of Treviso.

At his family's insistence, he undertakes technical studies, which he completes in Florence in 1927.

At the same time, he nurtures a growing interest in drawing and art.

In 1925, he begins to focus on printmaking, attending the studio of Raoul Dal Molin Ferenzona.

The experience contributes 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 prints and the Veneto landscape

Between 1927 and 1929, he lives in Treviso, developing a body of work connected to the region and urban settings.

He collaborates with the magazine Illustrazione Trevigiana and takes part in local exhibitions.

His early prints show an interest in depicting landscapes, buildings, and architectural views.

The engraved line is used to create relationships between light and shadow, conveying the texture of surfaces.

The 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 makes his first trip to Libya.

The experience broadens his visual repertoire, introducing landscapes and architecture unlike those found in Italy.

His encounters with Mediterranean and North African settings help develop his interest in built forms and the effects of light.

The depiction of the landscape takes on a documentary character while retaining an independent artistic dimension.

The views are not merely topographical records.

Through the engraved line, the artist interprets the relationship between architecture and its surroundings.

Venice and the development of his printmaking style

In 1932, he moves to Venice, where he attends the printmaking school at the Academy of Fine Arts as a guest.

His experience in Venice allows him to deepen his graphic research and engage with a highly significant printmaking tradition.

The city also offers a range of architecture, canals, and views that appeal to his sensibility.

Attention to the structure of buildings combines with an interest in atmospheric effects.

In 1934, she moved to Rome, further expanding her ties with the art world and institutions.

The second trip to Libya and the portfolio of prints

In 1937, Bianchi Barriviera returned to Libya.

She brought back a portfolio of thirteen prints from this journey.

The series highlights the importance of travel in shaping her 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 allowed the artist to explore the relationship between volume and light.

This experience paved the way for the subsequent expedition to Ethiopia, which would become one of the most important episodes in her career.

The expedition to Ethiopia and the churches of Lalibelà

Between 1938 and 1939, Lino Bianchi Barriviera took part in a study mission in Ethiopia.

She accompanied archaeologist Monti Della Corte on an expedition to the Lasta region, tasked with documenting the twelve monolithic churches of Lalibelà.

It is an extraordinary architectural complex, made up of religious buildings carved directly into the rock.

The artist produced surveys and studies to document the structures.

The experience combined artistic observation with architectural precision.

The churches are depicted through views, sections, plans, and decorative details.

The complexity of the architecture offered an opportunity to develop a particularly rigorous graphic language.

The Lalibelà series and the 1957 edition

Work on the Ethiopian churches continued even after her return to Italy.

In 1957, an edition bringing together prints, plans, sections, axonometric drawings, and decorative details was completed.

The project is one of the most significant achievements of her career.

The images have clear documentary value, but also demonstrate the artist's ability to interpret complex architectural structures.

The rocky surfaces, openings, and volumes are rendered through a network of marks that suggests depth and texture.

The Lalibelà series 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.

This experience takes place in the context of the Second World War and official initiatives to document the conflict through art.

The artist continues to use drawing and printmaking as tools for observation.

His work thus spans a complex historical period, in which the relationship between art and institutions takes on particular significance.

Teaching in Naples and Rome

In 1937, Bianchi Barriviera was appointed professor of engraving at the Academy of Fine Arts of Naples.

Between 1950 and 1954, he took over as director of the institution.

In 1956, he was appointed to teach engraving at the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome, where he remained until 1976.

Teaching occupies a fundamental part of his career.

The artist contributes to training new generations of engravers, passing on an in-depth knowledge of graphic art practice.

After retiring from academia, he also directed a training course for burin engravers at the State Printing Works and Mint.

Graphic works and the relationship with architecture

Bianchi Barriviera's output includes etchings, drawings, paintings, and decorative projects.

Landscape and architecture remain fundamental subjects.

The images stand out for the precision with which buildings, perspectives, and spatial relationships are constructed.

Light helps bring out the structure of the surfaces.

The 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 devoted himself to writing.

In 1984, he published Engraving and Original Printing, a volume bringing 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 engraving plates.

Bianchi Barriviera's legacy is tied to his ability to bring together graphic research, observation of the landscape, and the study of architecture.

The Lalibelà series is a particularly significant testament to this journey, in which engraving becomes a tool for artistic interpretation and cultural memory.