English Copyists of Guarneri del Gesu
Originali Modelli e Copie, Cremona 13-21October 2001
by Andrew Fairfax
Artists and craftsmen have always benefited from making copies, and by augmenting their studies practising the techniques of the Old Masters they could not fail to gain a deeper knowledge of their subject. Even Leonardo da Vinci, who disapproved strongly of an artist imitating the style of others, made an exception for the young painter. He conceded it was acceptable to study the work of others as a training exercise but stipulated the practice must be given up as soon as possible.
Violinmakers certainly followed this route but have not always heeded Leonardo's advice when to stop, occasionally resulting in confusion and even legal action. Such was the case in 1685 when the Duke of Modena was petitioned regarding the purchase of a violin thought to be the work of Nicolo Amati. When the Amati label was removed that of his likely pupil Francesco Rugeri, whose violins were valued at only a quarter that of Amati, was revealed.
Cremonese instruments were imported into England as early as 1637, when Rugeri was probably employed in the Amati workshop, and must have served as fine examples to the more ambitious craftsmen lucky enough to have access to them. One such maker was Robert Cuthbert, whose violins made in London during the 1670's were clearly influenced by Nicolo Amati in a similar fashion to some of the early Dutch makers.
The first influence of Stradivari can be detected at the beginning of the eighteenth century in the violins of Barak Norman and in particular Daniel Parker. Remarkably, Parker's working life coincides precisely with the production of Stradivari's finest work. His violins have also been subjected to misappropriation and very few now survive with original labels, many having been passed off as Italian. This was certainly Fritz Kreisler's intention after he bought a violin from the firm of W.E. Hill & Sons in 1911. He asked for the Parker label to be removed so that on his return to Germany he could refer to it as a Balestreri.
It was to be more than one hundred years after Parker copied Stradivari that anyone in Britain attempted to do the same with the violins of Guarneri del Gesu. Early interpretations of del Gesu's ideas in Italy are found in the work of the Cremonese maker Lorenzo Storioni in the 1770's. This certainly suggests a growing local reputation but they were also finding a wider audience abroad. One of the earliest documented violins by del Gesu to find it's way to Britain was made in 1734 and played in London by the Turin born virtuoso Gaetano Pugnani around 1760. A little later the Cremonese violinist Paolo Diana, known as "Spagnoletti", visited London and remained at the centre of its musical life, also playing on a violin of 1734, until his death in 1834. These earlier violins appear to have been the inspiration for a rare violin by Joseph Panormo. He was born in Naples but ended his days in London, dying in the workhouse in 1837 at the age of sixty-nine and described as a pauper on his death certificate. Under these circumstances it seems unlikely he would have made such a fine violin any later than 1830 and therefore, perhaps through his Italian connections may have been the first maker in England to copy del Gesu.
Between 1800 and 1830 the tonal merits of del Gesu's violins became more widely recognised. They were further brought to prominence by Nicolo Paganini, and their growing popularity in Britain can be traced to his visit in 1831 when he played on the violin of 1743 known as "Il Cannone". The burgeoning reputation of del Gesu's violins was reflected in their increasing value although, perhaps also due to Paganini's influence, it was the later violins that were most in demand. In 1830 a violin of unknown date sold for only £42 whereas violins by Stradivari were commanding three or four times that sum. Four years later Spagnoletti's violin was valued at £150 and by the middle of the century there appears to be parity between the two makers. When the Plowden collection was dispersed in 1867 two violins by del Gesu and the same number by Stradivari were each valued at £300.
The early part of the 19th century saw the rise of the connoisseur and dealer on an international level, brought about by the flourishing demand for Old Italian work. Shops like those of Betts and Dodd dealt in a large number of fine Italian instruments and this corresponded with a growing desire for even new violins to appear old. When Charles Colton observed in 1820 that "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery" the techniques required for doing just that had developed sufficiently for Henry Lockey Hill to produce a fine copy of a long pattern Stradivari with a highly convincing wear pattern.
Much of the credit for exploring the methods for ageing the varnish is usually given to Bernard Simon Fendt. His best instruments are covered with a richly textured varnish that often displays a consistent wear pattern with curious lightened areas on the bass side of the front and back, almost as if played left handed. Artificial ageing did not meet with universal approval however as can be seen from the remarks by the connoisseur George Hart. Writing in 1875, he described how Fendt had worked when "the mania for obtaining supposed maturity by artificial means was at its height" and that he "shared the general infatuation".
Fendt's younger brother Jacob not only shared Bernard Simons's talent for ageing instruments but was also one of the first makers in Britain to copy del Gesu. Precise authentication is often difficult as so few of his instruments carry any sort of identification although the earliest I have seen bears a rare label dated 1832. Hart considered Jacob an ingenious copyist but regretted the need for what he described as wasting his energies in "making new work resemble that of a hundred years before". His observations about Jacob's reasons for doing so may also be revealing when he states "the patronage that he obtained was not of much value, but had he brought his work into the market in its natural condition he would not have lived by his trade". These comments certainly suggest that artificially aged instruments were being produced as much out of economic necessity as any aesthetic principles. This is reinforced by a description of the family often living on the edge of poverty and afflicted by illness. Indeed when Jacob made the violin of 1832 he would have been only seventeen years old and already half way through his short life. Another brother, Frances, was forced to continue making violins while confined to bed. The instruments were put up the chimney to darken the wood before being varnished and offered for sale, no doubt unlabeled and looking to the untrained eye rather older than they actually were. Using smoke to achieve the impression of age was a centuries old technique that was also used by Michelangelo. According to Vasari he was in the habit of borrowing Old Master drawings to copy. These copies were then subjected to wood smoke to achieve the desired appearance of age and apparently it was not always the original that was returned!
The man most closely associated with copying del Gesu is John Frederick Lott, known to everyone as Jack to distinguish him from his father of the same name. According to Lott's pupil Edward Withers, he was taught by his father but remained unpaid for his labours, and instead was allowed one day a week to work for himself. Apparently the precocious fourteen-year-old used the time to good purpose and produced two violins, which his father considered too hastily made to sell. Undaunted, he put the violins into a couple of old cases and delivered them to the auction house. A few days later Jack discovered to his great delight that both had sold for a good sum of money although when he returned home with the profits his father, still obviously unimpressed, asked whom he had robbed to achieve such sudden wealth. Upon hearing the explanation Jack's father set to work and also delivered two violins to the auction house. However they were described as looking so beautiful and new that they failed to find a buyer, whereas according to Withers "Jacks fiddles always looked years old".
Soon after this Lott went to work for the Davis brothers in Wardour Street for a short time before setting off on a series of adventures vividly documented in the story "Jack of All Trades" by Charles Reade. These concluded with Lott travelling across America and Europe with a performing elephant before returning to London by the middle of the 1840's, and in his own words "having foreign connections, I imported and sold to dealers as well as made, varnished and doctored violins". These connections were probably numerous and certainly included J.B Vuillaume.
The violins made by Lott are rarely exact replicas. Whereas some makers took pains to reproduce the various features of del Gesu precisely, Lott worked more spontaneously with characteristics from different instruments often blended in a style intended to generate the excitement of the original. These very individual interpretations can best be described as being inspired by rather than imitations of del Gesu. They were then coated with a distinctive rich orange varnish, supposedly made from amber which after many years of handling and French polishing has developed a convincing patina. An article published in the Strad magazine just twenty eight years after his death suggests how successfully he achieved his aim. It reads "Recently a great tribute was paid to the genius of John (Jack) Lott by the sale of one of his instruments for £300 as a genuine Joseph Guarneri. Even experts were deceived into believing that the instrument came out of the workshop of the great master Guarnerius". More recently his violins have been used by such renowned players as Ida Haendal and Yehudi Menuhin in lieu of the genuine Guarneri del Gesu.
Lott exerted a strong influence over several other makers who were all associated in some way with the business run by Edward Withers and these became the source for the majority of del Gesu copies made until the end of the century. In 1846 Withers took over the shop run by the Davis brothers, who had already employed Lott as well as Joseph Panormo and Jacob Fendt. Although originally a confectioner by trade, Withers claimed to be Lott's only pupil before becoming one of the most successful violin dealers of the nineteenth century.
He was assisted by Charles Boullangier, one of several French workers to be employed in the shop. Many instruments bearing the Withers label display the hand of Boullangier and this is particularly evident in the cello's loosely based on a model used by del Gesu for his later violins. Instruments from this period continue to bear a strong stylistic resemblance to Lott's work but are often covered with a redder and generally darker varnish.
The Withers connection continues with the arrival in London of Georges Chanot, the son of the Parisian maker of the same name. He was employed for a short time by Charles Maucotel, another Frenchman who had just left the Withers workshop, but soon went on to establish his own business while continuing to exploit his family connections in Paris. Chanot's expertise and fine craftsmanship was held in high esteem and his working methods were documented in 1885 when his pupil Ed. Heron-Allen published "Violin-Making As It Was and Is". Chanot made many violins based on del Gesu, as did two of his sons, Joseph Anthony and Frederick William. However, many of the family seem to have been caught up in various forms of shadey business practises, which were not necessarily viewed as severely as they would be today. For example a violin labelled as a del Gesu of 1733, was in fact made by Frederick Chanot from the back, ribs and scroll of a Landolfi violin, and a belly made by himself in the manner of del Gesu. The instrument was almost certainly sold as a Guarneri, but a telltale difference in the varnish of the front and back had led to a more recent attribution to Jack Lott. Only on opening the violin for repair was Chanot's signature and the date 8/2/07 discovered.
By now the del Gesu model had found universal acceptance. In the first half of the century, George Craske, Britain's most prolific maker and credited with over two thousand five hundred instruments began his career working in a very English way for Dodd and Forster. Towards the end of the century he and others such as Thomas Earl Hesketh and John Wilkinson, although not truly copying, had certainly embraced the ideas of del Gesu.
The most ingenious copyists are acknowledged to be William, Charles and Alfred Voller. The brothers were all accomplished musicians whose acquaintances included such well known figures as Wilhelmj and Tertis as well as having business contacts in various parts of Europe. By 1892 they were working for George Hart in London and several of their early instruments bear his label. After setting up independently they embarked on numerous copies of lesser-known makers as well as the more obvious names that include some dangerously convincing imitations of the Gagliano family. Some copies of well-documented instruments should have been safe from fraudulent abuse but controversy did arise over a Stradivari copy that became known as the "Balfour Strad". The violin was originally purchased through an agent of the Vollers for £45 and takes its name from the company that subsequently offered it for sale. It was finally advertised as the genuine article for £2,500 and prompted a well publicised letter asserting "You know it is only a clever "Fake" and signed "One who knows who made it". Once the new owner realised his mistake civil court proceedings were instigated that resulted in an out-of-court settlement.
The brothers also made fine reproductions of Guarneri del Gesu that rank amongst their finest work. These include copies of the d'Egville of 1735 and several versions of the "Leduc" of 1743/5 which had been brought to Britain by the collector David Laurie before passing through the hands of Hart and in 1894, the Hills. These are not like the free interpretations of Lott but careful replicas of specific violins employing a varied range of techniques required for each instrument. Sometimes the wear and patina is only suggested at rather than copied in every detail and at other times they obviously took a great deal of trouble. Eric Hebbern, the renowned art forger who died a mysterious and untimely death in Rome in 1996 made a clear distinction between the two types of copy. The first, defined as the "perfect" fake, is where the author sets out to produce something indistinguishable from the original. This would require constant access to the instrument being copied, especially without the use of photography. Alternatively Hebbern describes where the original is followed more or less closely and with an attempt to give the work a pleasing appearance of age as the "decorative" fake. This can be made with the aid of previously prepared templates and notes after the instrument has left the workshop, and is the type of copy exhibited here.
In 1911 Arthur Hill recounted the extent to which the Vollers were prepared to go to create the desired effect, presumably as a "perfect" fake, when making a new front, sides and scroll for a back by Stradivari. Although taking a similar stance in bemoaning the waste of talent once used to describe the efforts of the Fendt family almost a hundred years earlier Hill believed "the amount of cleverness and talent spent on making the parts remarkable". He then describes how they "have cracked the new parts, used worm-eaten wood in the sides, and all in all done things that one would hardly dream of".
Seven years later he concluded "we recognise they have sown the seeds of much mischief which will undoubtedly bear fruit in years to come". However science has come to the rescue and much of the "mischief" can now be untangled with the aid of dendrochronology, or tree-ring analysis. The same examination was carried out on the Voller copy exhibited here that was used to date the youngest annual ring in the front of the original to 1726. In this case the result showed that the youngest ring was produced in 1876, conclusively proving the violin could not have been made by, for instance, Lott!
The del Gesu model has now achieved universal acceptance and no doubt craftsmen will continue to follow in the footsteps of Lott, the Vollers and many others that have attempted to copy, imitate or even deceive. The violins of Guarneri del Gesu are acknowledged as the most popular and coveted instrument of many of the great violinists, and their unique grace, boldness and individuality remain an inspiration to violinmakers the world over.
Further information about the makers discussed, as well as many others, is available in "The British Violin", published by the British Violin Making Association.
The life and work of the Voller Brothers will be the subject of an exhibition at the Royal Academy of Music in London towards the end of 2002, and will be accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue.
