Giovanni Battista Rogeri

Giovanni Battista Rogeri is believed to have been born in Bologna but moved to Cremona, where he was apprenticed to Nicolò Amati. By 1675 Rogeri had moved again, this time to Brescia. He fused the neatness of construction that he had learned from Amati with the slightly elongated f-holes and C-bouts of his Brescian predecessors, and was able to combine the best elements of the Cremonese and Brescian schools. He reached his peak as a craftsman from about 1690 and his violins based on Amati’s Grand Pattern are generally considered his best. The quality of materials and perfection of execution of the 1699 violin clearly demonstrate Rogeri’s Cremonese heritage.

By 1690 he was aided by his son Pietro Giacomo, who was a skilled assistant, and no doubt helped with the production of some lesser instruments, which often have unpurfled backs. The Rogeri workshop also produced a number of fine cellos (see the circa 1690 cello) that again demonstrate the benefit of a Cremonese education.