Immaculately Preserved Gaetano Guadagnini II Violin

Gaetano Guadagnini (II), the eldest son of Carlo Guadagnini and a grandson of Giovanni Battista Guadagnini, was born in Turin on 30 November 1796. His father and his uncle Gaetano were partners in a firm known as the Fratelli Guadagnini, which had been operating ever since their father’s death in 1786. By this time, their primary trade had shifted over to the making of guitars and mandolins, as was the case in many other cities, and even this trade was weak during the years of the Napoleonic Wars, during which Turin was invaded and occupied, and eventually absorbed into France as a Department. Cozio even noted, in 1816, that the brothers were still working, but evidently were not meeting great success. Several months later, on 20 November, just days before his 20^th birthday, Carlo died, and the following February, so did his uncle Gaetano (I), leaving the young man in charge of the family workshop, which he owned in partnership with his stepmother. He gradually rebuilt the business, through wise promotion and astute contacts, and it was flourishing by the time of his death on 2 March 1852.

While guitars and mandolins might have been the stock-in-trade, there was still an occasional market for violins, as witnessed by a handful of violins made by Carlo and Gaetano II. The earliest violins from Gaetano II were made following methods that followed family traditions, although also incorporating small touches from the guitar-making craft. However, there had been some significant changes in what was considered standard in a violin by the 1820s.

During the French era, French craftsmen moved to town to supply the needs of the fledgling Conservatory of Turin. Among these was Nicolas Lété-Pillement, a merchant-dealer from Mirecourt, who imported instruments and makers in his employ. After the French departure, one of his employees, Giovanni Francesco Pressenda, was able to capture the market, and remained for the next few decades as the leader of the craft. Pressenda’s training was French, and since he dominated the trade, his style set the standard for the coming years.

Gaetano was well aware of both the differences in constructional style and visual appearance, and understandably adapted them to his own purposes. In this he might have received a few pointers from an unlikely source: the King’s Surgeon-Dentist, Alexandre D’Espine, who was a neighbour but who also had picked up the methods of violin making while a student in Paris. Indeed, Cozio noted in his diaries one “M. L. Epine”, who was having his violins varnished for him by “the young Guadagnini”.