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In
the 17th and 18th centuries more or less prominent violin makers
were to be found all over Europe, especially in Italy: in Milan,
Bologna, Venice, Rome, Naples, Palerma. In Mittenwald, Germany,
it was the Klotz family. Violin makers also worked in
Holland, Paris, England, Norway, Austria, Prague and Spain...
Violin
making in Italy, however, gradually declined in the second
half of the 18th century; the large schools fell into decadence
due to increasingly negligent work. But their decline certainly
also had something to do with the end of the Baroque era,
and nothing could emphasise more clearly to what extent the
violin was representative of the Baroque style product.
A
wave of rationalization swept over the corporation of
violin makers. Attempts were made to measure the instruments
in order to establish optimal norms. The process of manufacture
was also rationalised by dividing the work: isolated
elements were produced by different artisans and assembled afterwards.
Thus industrial manufacture came into being - and still
exists in the 20th century - with several people in several
places working at home. (Quite obviously such a procedure cannot
possibly afford the quality of the timbre all the attention
it deserves.) The first violin factory was founded around
1790 at Mirecourt, France, by Dider Nicolas. Afterwards
other European cities shared the mass production of bow instruments.
Towards
1800 the attempts to adapt the violin to the new style
were unsuccessful, despite some interesting improvements. One
should bear in mind that the attempts were in keeping with the
new spirit that reigned after the French Revolution (1789-1815)
and were unacceptable because the new form of the violin gave
it a different timbre that did not correspond to the musicians’
ideal. Moreover, the Romantic Movement of the 19th century soon
saw the return to the ancient forms, and the imitation of the
old styles (Neo-Gothic, Old German and Neo-Baroque) reached
their apogee.
Violin makers began buying large quantities of old Italian violins
and began to speculate. They would take everything they could
lay their hands on, regardless of the quality... Active violin
makers were forced to "produce antique" in order to sell
their instruments. They would "cook" the violins (Jean Baptiste
Vuillaume) by accelerating the natural drying process through
smoking or the use of chemical products.
Then
came the series of experiments with the varnish; with
time more and more tests were run in an effort to hit upon
the ancient compositions of varnish and colour. Remarkable
results were obtained on small surfaces but almost never on
the entire surface of an instrument! This was proof that the
art of varnishing depends less on the material used than on
the experienced hands and eyes of the expert violin maker.
 The
pernicious evolution that occurred in the 19th century led to
innumerable imitations and even to forgery. J.B.
Vuillaume is said to have copied Paganini’s Guarnerius so perfectly,
that Paganini himself was not able to recognise the original
offhand. Likewise the Stradivarius named "Balfour" much
later turned out to be the work of J.B. Vuillaume!
These
facts bear testimony to the talent of certain modern violin
makers. It is regrettable that such an ingenious man as Vuillaume
found himself forced to copy. His typically "red" violins
are amongst the greatest marvels of violin making. Thus new
masterpieces emerged which were nevertheless only copies or
free imitations of ancient instruments.
A
new challenge appeared at the beginning of the 20th century,
following the increasing interest in Baroque music: as
there was a total lack - or at least an insufficiency - of ancient,
unaltered violins, violins were built according to the classical
concept. Such instruments were presented for the first time
in 1930.
Today
violin-makers continue to hand-make beautiful, sturdy violins
as was done in the old days. There are also factory-made instruments,
but they are often rather catastrophic from every point of view!
The violin is an infinitely complex instrument whose construction
requires all the passion of a violin-maker for his art together
with his experience, patience, meticulousness, talent and intuition,
if it is to give full satisfaction and joy to the musician who
plays it.
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