Leonardo Barbieri
Leonardo Barbieri (1818–1896) was an Italian painter, who was active in the Americas in from 1840s to the 1860s. He is famous for his numerous portraits of Californios, produced between 1849 and 1853, considered to be California's most important collection of portraits from the 19th century, earning him the epithet as "California's Leonardo".
Leonardo Barbieri

California Historical Society · Public domain
- Name
- Leonardo Barbieri
- Born
- c. 1818
- Birthplace
- Savoy, Italy
- Died
- 1896
- Occupation
- Portraitist, daguerrotypist
- Nationality
- United States
- Fields
- portrait
- Languages
- English
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Documentary summary
Leonardo Barbieri (1818–1896) was an Italian painter, who was active in the Americas in from 1840s to the 1860s. He is famous for his numerous portraits of Californios, produced between 1849 and 1853, considered to be California's most important collection of portraits from the 19th century, earning him the epithet as "California's Leonardo".
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Note VALÉORINE
Leonardo Barbieri (1818–1896) was a daguerreotypist, painter and photographer, of American nationality. The daguerreotypist was born in Duchy of Savoy.
The work spans portrait. Languages used include English.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 01 October 2026
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wikidata · Q42726850 · wikipedia · Leonardo Barbieri
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Leonardo Barbieri • Born — c. 1818 • Birthplace — Savoy, Italy • Died — 1896 • Place of death — Savoy, Italy • Occupation — Portraitist, daguerrotypist
Life
Life
• Illustration — Portrait of Carlos Antonio Carrillo, 1852; Santa Barbara Historical Museum. • Illustration — Portrait of Francisco Pérez Pacheco, 1852; De Saisset Museum of Santa Clara University. Barbieri was born in 1818 in the Duchy of Savoy, Kingdom of Sardinia. He was educated in Lyon.
Argentina and Bolivia
Argentina and Bolivia
Barbieri emigrated to the Americas in 1844, to Buenos Aires in Argentina, where he became a portraitist. He subsequently taught drawing in La Paz, Bolivia.
California
California
By 1849, he had opened a studio in San Francisco, followed by Santa Barbara in 1850 and 1852, and Monterey in 1852. Barbieri is famed for his numerous portraits of Californios, including: • Don Guillermo Castro; 1852. Held by the Hayward Area Historical Society • Don José de la Guerra y Noriega; 1850. Held by the Santa Barbara Historical Museum • Don Carlos Antonio Carrillo; 1852. Held by the Santa Barbara Historical Museum • Doña Ramona de los Ángeles Lorenzana; 1852. Held by the Santa Barbara Historical Museum • Padre José González Rubio; 1850. Held by Mission Santa Barbara • Don Francisco Pérez Pacheco; 1852. Held by the De Saisset Museum at Santa Clara University • Doña Feliciana Estada Pacheco; 1852. Held by the De Saisset Museum at Santa Clara University • Doña María Pacheco Malarín; 1852. Held by the De Saisset Museum at Santa Clara University
Mexico
Mexico
In July 1853, he accompanied Count Gaston de Raousset-Boulbon in a steamship from California down to Acapulco and then overland to Mexico City, during which he became a close friend of Raousset-Boulbon.
Peru
Peru
He was a portrait painter and daguerrotypist in Lima, Peru in 1861-1863, He opened an art school, and his students included Peruvian painters Federico del Campo and Daniel Hernández Morillo.
Later life
Later life
Barbieri returned to Europe in 1871. He died in his home village in Savoy in 1896.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1818
Leonardo Barbieri born at Duchy of Savoy.
1896
Leonardo Barbieri died.
Legacy
Although his tenure in California was brief, his oeuvre is considered to be the most important collection of portraiture of 19th century California, during a historically crucial period of its transition from Mexican to American rule. The largest collections of his works make up part of the permanent collections at the De Saisset Museum of Santa Clara University and the Santa Barbara Historical Museum.
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Leonardo Barbieri”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q42726850: Leonardo Barbieri
General reference · Wikidata
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.California's Leonardo - Portraits of Signor Barbieri
- 2.Palmquist, Peter E. Pioneer Photographers of the Far West: A Biographical Dictionary, 1840-1865. Stanford University Press. 97. 2001. 9780804738835.
- 3.Kamerling, Bruce. California's Leonardo: The Portraits of Signor Barbieri. California History. 66. 4. 262–277. December 1987. 10.2307/25177285.
- 4.Redmon, Michael. Portraitist Leonardo Barbieri. Santa Barbara Independent. June 8, 2016.
- 5.Lindsay, Emily. Barbieri painting recently on loan to exhibition connected to Pacific Standard Time in Los Angeles. De Saisset Museum. Santa Clara University. May 4, 2018.
- 6.Carlos Antonio Carrillo. National Portrait Gallery.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Secondary witnessauthority record
General reference
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 17 August 2026.
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