Carl Nicolas Sawicki

Sawicki came from a noble Polish family and was initially intended for a religious career. While attending the grammar school in Lemberg (now Lviv), he lived with a violin maker who introduced him to the craft. He subsequently went to Vienna for further training, where he is recorded as having studied with Franz Xaver Werner and Franz Geissenhof. He obtained permission to establish his own workshop in Vienna in 1823 and rapidly acquired a reputation as one of the city’s leading violin makers.

He worked principally on large Stradivari and Guarneri del Gesù models, producing violins, violas and cellos. His instruments are characterised by precise and refined workmanship, carefully selected figured maple and close-grained spruce, and a transparent varnish ranging from golden yellow and orange to deeper red. His copies of Guarneri del Gesù were particularly highly regarded, and he also made copies of Paganini’s celebrated Guarneri del Gesù, the Il Cannone.

Sawicki’s reputation was firmly established during his lifetime. His instruments were played by prominent musicians including the Viennese violinist Franz Xaver Pecháček and the Oldenburg court Kapellmeister Friedrich August Pott. The Polish violinist Karol Lipiński commissioned two instruments from him. Sawicki’s work was also recognised at the Vienna industrial exhibitions, where he received awards in 1835 and 1845.

His association with Niccolò Paganini is particularly significant. During Paganini’s stay in Vienna in 1828, Sawicki made a replacement fingerboard for Paganini’s 1743 Guarneri del Gesù, known as the Il Cannone. The original Sawicki fingerboard, which was subsequently removed during conservation, survives in the archives and measures approximately 262 mm. The work provides direct physical evidence of Sawicki’s intervention on one of the most celebrated violins in existence.

Paganini subsequently provided Sawicki with a testimonial dated 10 August 1828, praising his ability both as a maker of new violins and as a repairer of stringed instruments. Contemporary and later sources also record Sawicki’s highly successful copies of Paganini’s violin.

Sawicki also produced unusually elaborate instruments. A violin made in 1818, described historically as a Kunstgeige, was richly decorated and became associated with the highest circles of Viennese society. Another surviving instrument, dated 1837, bears a dedication to Emperor Ferdinand I: “Smae. C.R. Apostolicae Maiestati Ferdinando Imo Austriae imperatori dedicavit in signum Venerationis et Submissionis”. A further violin dated 1848 is known for its extensive mother-of-pearl inlay.

An 1834 Sawicki violin is preserved in the collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. It is made on a Stradivari model and retains its original neck and probably its original fittings, providing an important documented example of Sawicki’s construction.

Sawicki’s surviving instruments are relatively uncommon, and his reputation has resulted in his name appearing on instruments of lesser quality. His authentic work is distinguished by its exceptionally careful workmanship, sophisticated modelling and attractive varnish. His importance within the Viennese school is further demonstrated by the esteem in which he was held by contemporary musicians and by the surviving documentary evidence of his work for Paganini and the Austrian imperial court.