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Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume

Jean Baptiste Vuillaume was the single most influential personality in the violin world of the 19th century. A prolific maker, inventor, connoisseur and dealer, he established Paris as the centre of the violin trade, which it remained until after his death.

Vuillaume moved to Paris in 1818 and trained with François Chanot and Lété before establishing his own business in the rue Croix des Petits Champs in 1827. He remained there until 1858, when he moved to the rue Demours at Les Ternes. During his career he employed many of the most skilled violin and bow makers of his day, including Nestor Audinot, Charles Maucotel, Hippolyte Silvestre, Honoré Derazey, the Peccatte brothers, Jean Persoit, Joseph Fonclause, Pierre Simon and François Voirin.

Vuillaume’s early instruments were very much in the mould of Lupot, but he soon began to developas a copyist, particularly of Stradivari and Guarneri del Gesù, and occasionally

of Maggini and Amati. His love of old instruments had a strong influence on his work. In 1838 he met Paganini, and subsequently made a number of copies of the ‘Cannon’ Guarneri del Gesù, as can be seen in the violin dated 1847 featured in this archive. In 1855 he famously acquired the ‘Messie’ Stradivari from Luigi Tarisio, and made many fine ‘Messie’ copies, such as the one from the year 1866.

Although Vuillaume boasted of his skills as a copyist, and allegedly tried to palm Paganini off with a copy of the ‘Cannon’, his instruments are not easily confused with the originals. In a career spanning over half a century, he and his workshop produced more than 3,000 instruments, and the fact that they exist in such great numbers makes them relatively easy to identify. In addition, the vast majority of them are labelled, branded, numbered and signed as Vuillaume’s work.

Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume

(b Mirecourt, 1798; d Paris, 1875)

Jean Baptiste Vuillaume was the single most influential personality in the violin world of the 19th century. A prolific maker, inventor, connoisseur and dealer, he established Paris as the centre of the violin trade, which it remained until after his death.

Vuillaume moved to Paris in 1818 and trained with François Chanot and Lété before establishing his own business in the rue Croix des Petits Champs in 1827. He remained there until 1858, when he moved to the rue Demours at Les Ternes. During his career he employed many of the most skilled violin and bow makers of his day,... Read more

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A cello after Stradivari by Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume

Paris, circa 1840

Jean Baptiste Vuillaume was the single most influential personality in the violin world of the 19th century. A prolific maker, inventor, connoisseur and dealer, he established Paris as the centre... read more

A cello after Stradivari by Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume

Paris, circa 1840

Jean Baptiste Vuillaume was the single most influential personality in the violin world of the 19th century. A prolific maker, inventor, connoisseur and dealer, he established Paris as the centre of the violin trade, which it remained until after his death. Working with the finest Cremonese instruments deeply influenced Vuillaume’s personal output. This cello is based on the work of Antonio Stradivari, with extra breadth to the bouts, beautifully preserved varnish and wood choice all closely reflecting the iconic originals. This instrument has a clear and responsive sound - it projects very well and has a bright range of overtones and a very special timbre.
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Instruments we have sold by this maker

Articles

1862 Vuillaume cello commissioned by Vieuxtemps to go on sale for the first time

30 April 2024 - Ingles & Hayday

SLIPPEDISK ARTICLE EXTRACT – March 19, 2024 In 1862, the phenomenal Belgian violinist Henry Vieuxtemps asked his friend the celebrated luthier Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume to make him a cello. He may have wanted it for his string quartet, or maybe just... Read more

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“Vuillaume – a great artist!”

05 March 2024 - Dilworth, John

John Dilworth examines two magnificent instruments by Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume A chance to examine two instruments by J.B.Vuillaume brings home his supreme mastery of violin making. These almost equally well-preserved examples are virtually as clean and fresh as they were when... Read more

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Alexei Lvov and the ‘Tsar Nicholas’ Vuillaume Violin

12 May 2021 - Todes, Ariane

Alexei Lvov, the violinist who commissioned the Tsar Nicholas from Vuillaume in 1840, described himself as a dilettante, but he was a key figure in 19th-century Russian musical life, as Ariane Todes discovers

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Part VI: The Decline and Renaissance of Italian Violin Making

26 April 2021 - Dilworth, John

The Evolution of Violin Making from 16th-20th Century Part VI

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Tim Ingles remembers Sotheby’s Vuillaume exhibition of 2012

15 June 2020

Introduction In the autumn of 2012, which also turned out to be the autumn of my career at Sotheby’s, I had the privilege of handling some of the finest instruments by J.B. Vuillaume, and staging an exhibition of his work... Read more

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A ‘self-rehairing’ violin bow by Pierre Simon for J.B. Vuillaume

01 March 2019 - Oxley, Peter

  As opposed to the W.E.Hill & Sons workshop where, from the beginning of the 20th Century, W.C. Retford introduced the standardised ‘Hill Bow’ by employing the rigorous use of templates, J.B. Vuillaume allowed all of the bow makers in... Read more

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The Evangelists Quartet by J.B. Vuillaume

17 March 2016

An unparalleled quartet of instruments made by Jean Baptiste Vuillaume in Paris in 1863 was sold in our March 2016 auction for a world record £960,000.

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Vuillaume ‘Evangelists’ quartet sell for record amount

16 March 2016

ARTICLE EXTRACT A quartet of instruments made by the luthier Jean Baptiste Vuillaume sold at auction for £960,000 on 15 March. The two violins, viola and cello are named after the Evangelists Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, with corresponding carved... Read more

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The exquisite ‘Evangelists’ Quartet: close-up

16 March 2016

ARTICLE EXTRACT Between 1863 and 1872, Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume created these four instruments, each with an intricate carving of one of the four Evangelists, St Matthew, St Mark, St Luke and St John. He also created at least five others, bearing... Read more

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Vuillaume’s ‘Evangelists’ string quartet of instruments sells for £960,000

16 March 2016

ARTICLE EXTRACT Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume’s ‘Evangelists’ quartet of instruments has sold for £960,000 ($1.35m). The two violins, viola and cello – named after the Evangelists Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, with corresponding carved tailpieces depicting each saint – were bought through... Read more

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