He was born into the family of a priest in the village of Koda in what is now Lower Kartli region, Georgia (then under Imperial Russia).

Returning to Georgia in 1882, he taught Georgian language and literature in Senaki, Telavi, and Tbilisi.

At the same time, he engaged in journalism, studied Georgian folklore, and authored autobiographical stories.

His novels – მიმქრალი შარავანდედი (The Faded Halo; 1913), ტრფობა წამებული (The Martyred Love; 1918), ისნის ცისკარი (The Dawn of Isani; 1928) and others – are really psychological novels in a historical setting, intertwining historical themes with folklore and fiction, and political in the measure in which they protest against the Russian rule.

Barnovi’s works are characterized by the abstraction of historical episodes and idealization of medieval Georgian heroes.