Notable Sales: Stefano Scarampella
Stefano Scarampella was the pupil of his elder brother Giuseppe, but is generally considered to have been an inferior craftsman. He was a prolific maker, primarily of violins, but the quality of his work varies greatly.
His principal influences were Guarneri del Gesù, occasionally Stradivari, and his Mantuan predecessor Tomaso Balestrieri, as seen in the circa 1905 violin. The very Italianate wood of the back and its soft, orange varnish would explain why it has, for many years, been attributed to Balestrieri. In his later work, Scarampella’s own personality is more in evidence, as demonstrated by the rather horizontal upper corners and elongated f-holes of the 1909 viola. From about 1920, most of the instruments produced in his workshop and bearing his label are the work of his pupil, Gaetano Gadda.
Scarampella’s instruments tend to have a good, powerful tone, and today he ranks as one of the most sought after ‘modern’ Italian makers.
(b Brescia, 1843; d Mantua, 1927)
Stefano Scarampella was the pupil of his elder brother Giuseppe, but is generally considered to have been an inferior craftsman. He was a prolific maker, primarily of violins, but the quality of his work varies greatly.
His principal influences were Guarneri del Gesù, occasionally Stradivari, and his Mantuan predecessor Tomaso Balestrieri, as seen in the circa 1905 violin. The very Italianate wood of the back and its soft, orange varnish would explain why it has, for many years, been attributed to Balestrieri. In his later work, Scarampella’s own personality is more in evidence, as demonstrated by the rather horizontal upper... Read more
22 March 2022 - Dilworth, John
The work of Stefano Scarampella is amongst the most admired of twentieth century Italian makers, for his distinctive and original style and well-developed tonal qualities. He initially trained as a woodworker in his native Brescia before taking up violin making,... Read more
13 March 2018 - Dilworth, John
The work of Stefano Scarampella is now highly prized among the dazzling and often baffling array of late nineteenth and early twentieth century Italian makers, who revivified the spirits of the national tradition for the modern era. A close contemporary... Read more
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