By Anne Leader
Sculptor Costantino Barbella was born on the last day of January in 1852 in Chieti, located along the Pescara river about 124 miles east-northeast of Rome. Though he planned to be a businessman, Barbella pursued his passion for sculpture, first by making small clay figurines for Nativity scenes which were sold at his father’s shop. In 1872 he won a scholarship to the Istituto di Belle Arti in Naples, where he studied with Stanislao Lista (1824-1908). He returned to Chieti in 1874 and turned regularly to pastoral themes inspired by peasant life in the Abruzzi. He made numerous terracotta and bronze figurines, whose sentimental themes appealed to a wide audience. He died in Rome in 1925.
Reference: “Barbella, Costantino.“ Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press.
Canto d’Amore, ca. 1877, bronze, sold Sworders Fine Art Auctioneers, 16 July 2013
Resting Girl, terracotta
Il Tesoro d’Italia, terracotta
Scugnizzo assetato, bronze
La sposa, terracotta