Giovanni Battista Guadagnini

GUADAGNINI, Giovanni Battista Born 1711 Piacenza, died 1786 Turin Italy. Founder of one of the most enduring Italian dynasties of luthiers. Perhaps also the last great maker of the classical period to arrive at his own distinctive style and form without slavishly copying past makers. Son of Lorenzo Guadagnini, below, who until recently was considered to be his teacher. Despite Giovanni Battista’s claims on his own later labels that he was a pupil of Antonio Stradivari, the evidence seems to indicate that in fact he was largely self-taught. His techniques and use of materials are unique to him and his followers, and cannot be readily traced back to any precedent. Although he doubtless used the interior form familiar in Cremona, a great deal of his method seems to be his initiative. Working initially in Piacenza, not far from Cremona itself, he developed a flat model with quite broad recurve around the edges. The soundholes are basically Amatisé, rather tightly cut around the upper end, but the lower half open, with distinctive oval shaped lower finials, and no flute in the wings. The equally distinctive scroll is rather thrown back, with blackened edges, and invariably marked with a series of puncture points tracing the shape of the last turn of the volute. The carving is quite plastic and shows signs of careful smoothing with abrasive. The purfling is made from walnut, unique amongst luthiers of the time, and the broad edges diminish in thickness at the corners, opposite to the convention elsewhere of leaving the corners fuller than the rest of the edge. The varnish is a beautiful deep orange-red. On moving to Milan in late 1749 his work entered its mature stage. Many of his greatest masterpieces come from Milan. The arch grew fuller, less hollowed at the edges, and every aspect of the work is bolder, including the varnish which developed into a particularly luscious rich red-brown laid over a golden ground, with no sign of defect in the texture. A small number of violins dated 1758 give Cremona as the place of origin. While no evidence has yet been found for his residence there, these few instruments are consistent with each other stylistically, and appear at the time Guadagnini was in transit from Milan to his new residence in Parma. Rosengard suggests that he might have spent a short time assisting Paolo Stradivari in Cremona, who had been employing Michael Angelo Bergonzi to assist in winding up the old Stradivari workshop. Bergonzi died in 1758. Guadagnini was established in Parma in the spring of 1758, under the patronage of Guillaume-Leon du Tillot and the Bourbon Duke of Parma, Don Felipe. Guadagnini’s work in this period became a little extreme, his idiosyncracies nearly overwhelming the integrity of the form. This became narrower and more highly arched, the soundholes increasingly exaggerated with the nicks set bizarrely low on the stem. The varnish lost some of the intense redness of the Milan recipe, and is usually a more modest amber colour. At the same time his efforts with the cello reached a beneficial level of invention. His original model, of compact size but full arching and particular breadth across the breast, seems to have been driven by his involvement with players. The results are very successful indeed in terms of facility for the player and depth of tone. Guadagnini in fact was one of the most prolific cello makers of all the 17th and 18th century Italians. The death of Don Felipe in 1768 brought an end to Guadagnini’s financial security and his life became chaotic. With a large family to support he moved again to Turin in 1771. There he became acquainted with the celebrated collector and historian of the violin, Count Cozio di Salabue. Under contract with him to supply new instruments, and also to supply information about old makers and instruments, the relationship seems eventually to have turned sour, but not before Guadagnini had introduced Cozio to Paolo Stradivari, leading directly to his acquisition of the relics of the Stradivari workshop, including the great ‘Messie’ Stradivari violin of 1716. Cozio encouraged Guadagnini to work in a more Stradivarian style and this produced some erratically fine work in his last period. The acknowledgements to Stradivari seem to consist of lowering the arch, adding fluting to the lower wings of the soundholes, and making the lower holes perfectly circular. Some of these late works show a resurgence of Guadagnini’s own style, but are very variable. He was certainly assisted by four of his sons, Gaetano, Giuseppe, Carlo, and Filippo. The best work is on a broad flat model with fine orange varnish, although some have a rather dowdy brown coating. Fine violas also come from this period and, like the cellos, are very compact entirely original models, with the strength and volume focused on the broad breast; all other aspects are reduced to a minimum, presumably in the interests of the player’s comfort. Joannes Baptista Guadagnini / filius Laurentji Guadagnini / fecit Placentiae 1744 Joannes Baptista Guadagnini Pla- / centinus fecit Mediolani 1757 GBGP Joannes Baptista Guadagnini / fecit Cremonae 1758 Joannes Baptista Guadagnini / Cremonensis Fecit Parma / GBGP / C.S.R. 1765 Joannes Baptista Guadagnini / Fecit Parmae serviens / GBGP / C.S.R. 1765 Joannes Baptista Guadagnini / Cremonensis fecit Taurini 1772 GBGP Joannes Baptista Guadagnini / Cremonensis fecit Taurini / GBG / alumnus Antoni Stradivari 1777 Questo corretto e fatto al Convento da me Gian Battista Guadagnini Piacentino in Milano [Rosengard, Doring]

He was born, according to Count Cozio di Salabue, at Cremona, and Lancetti States that he worked with his father in Milan. Later he worked at Piacenza, then at Parma, where he became instrument-maker to the Duke. Upon the pensions to the artists of the Duke’s Court being discontinued in 1772, he went to Turin, where he died. Count Cozio di Salabue communicated to Lancetti the following particulars relative to Giovanni Battista Guadagnini. He says, ” He imitated Stradivari, but avoided close imitation of all detail, and prided himself in not being a mere copyist.” He is said to have excited the jealousy of other makers, which caused him to remove so frequently, but most likely he offended chiefly with his hasty temper. Many of his instruments made in Turin between 1773 and 1776 have wood of the handsomest kind. Count Cozio ordered from him several instruments which he added to his collection, among them two Tenors and two Violoncellos. The interest Count Cozio manifested with regard to this maker is shown in his having obtained from the parish registers the dates of his birth and death. He states that he was born in Cremona in 1711, and died in Turin, September 18th, 1786. This last-named date is in conformity with that of 1785, recently given to me by the representatives of the family at Turin, as the last year in which he made instruments. Lorenzo has been regarded as the only pupil of Stradivari in the Guadagnini family ; but if their respective works be closely examined, it will be found that those of Giovanni Battista more closely resemble the instruments of Stradivari than even those of Lorenzo, which is suggestive of his having, in some way, been brought early under the great master’s influence. It is singular that his early labels contain no reference to Cremona, whilst on the late ones there is mention of the famous town, which evidences the correctness of the statement of Count Cozio relative to his birthplace. It is quite evident that he considered the model of Stradivari as that to be followed, and he does not appear to have changed his views on this point at any time, all his works being in accordance with the teachings of the great master. Giovanni Battista was particularly happy in the selection of his wood, it being invariably of the handsomest kind. The backs of his instruments are generally found to be divided, the markings of the wood being very regular; the bellies are of wood well chosen for tone, the varnish very transparent, and of a brilliant colour. The scroll may be described as a rough imitation of that of Stradivari, and to partake generally of the character of the Stradivarian scroll from the date of 1728. The English possess some of the finest specimens of this maker, and were probably the first to recognise their sterling merits. In the correspondence which passed between Count Cozio di Salabue and Vincenzo Lancetti, in the year 1823, the Count says, ” The instruments of G. B. Guadagnini were highly esteemed by connoisseurs and professional men in Holland and Germany.”

Son of Lorenzo, b. 1711 at Cremona; d. Sept. 18, 1786, at Turin. Possibly worked under Antonio Stradivari in Cremona before he accompanied his father, about 1730, to Milan. Later he went with him to Piacenza and worked there many years, but left when his father died, and went to Parma, where he was appointed instrument maker to the Duke; but when the pensions to the artists of the Duke’s Court were discontinued, in 1772, he went to Turin and worked there till his death, 1786.
A pupil of his father, his violins and basses show the same form, the same qualities, and the same defects. He followed the Stradivari pattern, and his instruments stand high in public estimation. He often suffers in reputation from having the same Christian name as his uncle, Giovanni Battista, Lorenzo’s brother, whose work was much inferior. He used wood of the finest quality, and the varnish, which shows unmistakable signs of inferiority to that of the great makers, was that brilliant golden-red colour which is often considered a characteristic of a “Guadagnini” ; the tone is not large, the work is well and carefully done.
Labels : ” Joannes Baptista Guadagnini Cremonensis fecit Taurini, 1776″; a similar one dated 1775;
and “Joannes Baptista Guadagnini. Cremonensis fecit Taurini. Alumnus Antoni Stradivari. G.B.G. 1780.”
He had two sons, Gaetano and Giuseppe, both makers.

Sohn von Lorenzo G. und wie sein Vater wahrscheinlich Schüler von
Stradivari. Er war seinem Vater in jeder Beziehung ebenbürtig, baute wie dieser ziemlich genau nach Stradivari’s Modellen, nur die Schnecke gelingt ihm weniger