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Periodically, we will profile the people and instruments that make Machold Rare Violins unique. In this issue, Andreas Preuss examines an exceptional violin by Pietro Guarneri of Venice. Mr. Preuss is a member of the New York workshop and the author of The New Encyclopedia of Violin and Bow Makers, a computerized database of over 5000 makers, available on CD-ROM.

September 2004

Bright Lights, Big City: Pietro Guarneri of Venice
By Andreas Preuss

Pietro Guarneri (known as ‘Peter of Venice’) was born into the Guarneri family of violinmakers in 1695, the second son of Joseph Guarneri ‘filius Andreae’. His elder brother, Andrea Bartolomeo, died at the age of 15 in 1706 making Pietro and his younger brother Giuseppe Bartolomeo 'del Gesu' the only heirs to the violinmaking tradition of the Guarneri family. This heritage dated back to their grandfather, Andrea, who became an apprentice to the famous workshop of Nicolo Amati around 1641 and was continued by Joseph ‘filius Andreae’. Andrea's elder son, who had been expected to continue the workshop, instead made violinmaking a side business, pursuing a career as a musician in Mantua.

During Pietro’s childhood, the glorious edifice of Cremonese instrument making became overshadowed by war and decay. The first cracks showed around 1700, when Girolamo Amati II was unable to continue his family’s business. Shortly afterward, historical events took over the fate of the Cremonese school. The Spanish wars of succession made Cremona a prisoner of the French Army; the city was the site of a major battle in 1702, and remained in dispute until the departure of the Spaniards (and the beginning of Austrian rule) in 1707.

That same year the municipal music theater closed, depriving the Guarneri household of its major source of income. When the Austrians took over the city, the atmosphere of competitive innovation amongst the makers in Cremona was destroyed by the invasion of cheaper instruments from other cities of the newly formed empire, most notably Markneukirchen. (There were nearly 30 makers active in Markneukirchen at this time, compared to 15 in Paris and London and only 8 in Cremona.) Around 1710 the workshop of Vincenzo Ruggieri fell victim to the import competition, leaving Antonio Stradivari, Carlo Bergonzi and the Casa Guarneri as the only defenders of a tradition nearly two centuries old.

It was in this environment that the young Pietro learned his craft under his father and Carlo Bergonzi, who was the assistant in the workshop at the time. I know only two instruments of this period made by Pietro. Both heads were crafted in the Guarneri tradition. On the other hand, the placement of the f-holes close to the edge implies the innovative ideas of Carlo Bergonzi. Those instruments belong to the last years of the workshop’s decline. Pietro’s father Joseph seemed to have become tired of stemming the tide of bankruptcy. His last desperate effort to save the family business by taking a loan of 1000 Imperial lire in 1715 amounted to nothing more than token resistance. Both sons Pietro and Giuseppe managed to escape the sinking ship of the Casa Guarneri. Pietro moved on to Venice in 1717, while ‘del Gesu’ married and set up his own workshop in Cremona in 1722.

When Pietro arrived in Venice, the city was still powerful and influential, long before its political decline in 1797 (with the abdication of the last Doge, Lodovico Marin). Venice was the largest international marketplace in Europe, housing an abundant and affluent cultural life – much like New York City today. The musical scene of the ‘Queen of the Adriatic’, embodied by numerous opera houses, private music societies, and the music academies (known as ospedaletti) offered vast opportunities to a maker of Pietro’s ability. Like Martinus Kaiser, Matteo Gofriller and Domenico Montagnana before him and many others after him, Pietro came to the big city looking for a better life.

Within only five years, three makers had successfully entered the expanding Venetian market: Pietro Guarneri, Santo Seraphin and Carlo Tononi. In the same year Pietro arrived, his older colleague Carlo Tononi established his business. In fact, one instrument of 1721, branded and labeled by Tononi, was made by Pietro Guarneri, indicating a close cooperation between both makers. The instrument can be found today in the famous Cooper collection.

It is well possible that the first period of Pietro’s work, upon his arrival in Venice, was sold mostly through the shop of Carlo Tononi. This is underlined by the fact that Pietro's first Venetian period ended around 1730 with Tononi’s death. The instruments of this period are characterized by a broad model, with corners pointing outwards. The f holes, however, are still more reminiscent of Cremonese making. Pietro used a highly transparent golden yellow varnish in this period. It marks as well the beginning of a production of cellos that are unparalleled in their unique beauty. I would place them even above the cellos of his contemporary Montagnana for their beauty and rarity; unfortunately, only about a dozen still exist.

The second period of his work from circa 1730 to circa 1745 brings us to the peak of Pietro’s craftsmanship. The most outstanding example is the masterpiece known today as the ex-‘Baron Knoop’ of 1743, pictured in the catalogue of the 1995 Paris exhibition.

The violin for sale from our collection also belongs to this period and bears its original label dated 1728. In evaluating Pietro’s work we should keep in mind the production of his best contemporaries like Nathaniel Cross in London, Guersan and Fleury in Paris, Sebastian Klotz in Mittenwald, the Gagliano brothers Gennaro and Nicolo in Naples and Giovanni Francesco Celoniatus in Turin. Can any of them really compete with a member of the Casa Guarneri?

The attractively figured two-piece back has the typical charm of Pietro's instruments. Its contours are like a voluptuous Rubens woman, broad with feminine round curves, the purfling set close to the edge emphasizing the feminine character. The f-holes are typical of this period and posted self-confidently on the highly arched top. They are short and upright, while the flat angle at which the wings are cut accentuates the horizontal character of the corners. The scroll is missing the typical tool marks; however, it is nicely finished in the Guarneri tradition. The volute has a beautiful swing ending in a short, strong peg box. The characteristic and beautiful orange-red varnish that covers the entire instrument is only slightly interrupted by retouching.

Though a highly skilled master, Pietro seemed to have been a modest person throughout his life, putting his work efforts toward supporting his family. After his marriage in 1728 he fathered ten children between 1729 and 1743, of which only a few survived. Recently discovered documents indicate that he worked from home, renting out space in his apartment as a secondary income. This reminds me dramatically of many a New Yorker's lifestyle as well.

The last known instrument with an original label is dated 1757 closing the third and final period of Pietro’s work in Venice. As his eldest son Giuseppe Simone chose not to follow the footsteps of his father, the glorious heritage of the Casa Guarneri came to an end with Pietro’s death in 1762. If anywhere makers were inspired by his work I have to name Pierray and Bocquay of the old Parisian school.

The violin community began to appreciate the work of this great master only after the exhaustive research done by the Hill brothers about the Guarneri family, crowned by their book published in 1931. Before this date the confusion surrounding the identities of Pietro of Venice and his uncle, Pietro of Mantua, seemed to reflect in the prices of their instruments. In an old Emil Herrmann catalog of 1928, the price of a Pietro of Venice was set at only about 1/12th that of a golden period Stradivari. Today we can safely estimate his best examples at 1/6th of a Stradivari.

If the number of imitators measures the greatness of a maker, Pietro is on the losing side even against cheapjacks like the Testores. It is safe to assume that as violins of the Stradivari model came into high fashion, the highly arched instruments of Pietro of Venice made him unattractive for the market. However, there are four imitators and copyists I find worthwhile mentioning – it would be interesting to see their interpretation of Pietro’s artistry: Ferdinand Vincenz Homolka and Anton Sitt from Prague, Leandro Bisiach from Milan, and Cyril William Jacklin from London. It is my hope that the current generation of makers will create more copies as a celebration of the artistry of Pietro Guarneri of Venice.

Michael Avagliano contributed to this article.