Giuseppe Guarneri

( Bartolomeo ) Giuseppe Guarneri ( born August 21, 1698 Cremona, † October 17, 1744 ) was an Italian luthier, who was resident as Antonio Stradivari in Cremona. On his violin notes he referred to himself as Joseph Guarnerius and added a cross and the letters IHS on; therefore he was later, outside Italy also called Guarnerius del Gesu Guarneri del Gesù.

Family

Giuseppe Guarneri came from a long line of Cremonese violin maker family: his grandfather Andrea ( circa 1623/26-1698 ) was with Nicola Amati in teaching, his father Giuseppe Giovanni ( 1666 - circa 1739/40 ), who later became the nickname filius Andreae received, put the work continues. His uncle Giovanni Pietro ( Pietro I, 1655-1720 ), mainly working in Mantua, and his brother Pietro ( Pietro II, 1695 - circa 1762/63 ), mainly active in Venice, were famous violin maker. He himself has all but surpassed in the quality of his instruments.

Life

Giuseppe Guarneri met and started working with his father. In 1722 he married a native of Vienna Catarina Rota, possibly the daughter of a member of the Austrian occupation in Cremona. However, is still in the dark, where the couple have lived in the years 1722-1728 (probably in Cremona ); This year appeared Giuseppe documentary temporarily as the owner of Cremona restaurant on.

Around 1730 he took over the workshop of the then seriously ill father; of 1731 dated his first obtained IHS violin List. His wife has probably contributed to some extent in the workshop and handled the business after his death.

Work

From Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesù between 150 and 200 violins have survived. Numerous largely good illustrations of the works of Guarneri del Gesù, are found in the literature cited.

From Guarneri del Gesù no violas are known. However, a cello of 1731, he is credited by his father, which is likely to have been ordered to illness could no longer perform.

Creative periods

Approximately 1716 shows his stylistic influence on violin from the workshop of his father; these relatively few instruments are tonally more particular than earlier of the Father. The assignment is difficult, partly because there is almost no common ground original list of the father or the son from the period to about 1730. In the U.S., there was a tendency earlier to assign appropriate instruments to the Son; now it is so far restrained in accordance with European experts.

Around 1730 begins Guarneri independent major work, some with heads ( worm ) from the hand of the father provided. Violins from the years from about 1734/1735 can be the richer middle period, from 1739/1740 attributed the late work. Niccolò Paganini played one of his most sonorous Violins ( 1743 dated), Il Cannone Guarnerius therefore called them and bequeathed it to his hometown of Genoa, where it is on display at City Hall.

That Guarneri one day sitting in the dungeon and even there " prison violins " is said to have built on the current state of research, a legend that could be based on that Guarneri built relatively few instruments in the course of his life - and that the beginning of the 18th century actually once a Guarnerius in Cremona was detained, but the first name was Giacomo.

Features

The work of Guarneri del Gesù is particularly characterized by generally smaller sizes ( 35.0 to 35.5 cm body length ), low floor and ceiling vaults, open C-frame, short, later partly also extended corners, long f holes ( at the school of Brescia reminiscent ) and gorgeous coatings. The instruments seem more unequal, but always awesome. The later, more individual they appear.

Value

Meanwhile include Guarneri violins among the most coveted and most expensive stringed instruments in the world. So to 2009 for the " Kochanski " in 1741 already about 10 million dollars have been paid. The " Vieuxtemps " from the same year was sold in 2010 for $ 18 million.

Collections

The following public collections have violins from him:

• Comune di Cremona: Lo Stauffer 1734
• Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna: Ebersholt 1739
• Comune di Genova, Palazzo Doria Tursi, Sala Paganiniana: Cannone 1743
• Czech National Museum, Prague: Hoffmann, Harrington about 1744