Pietro (II) Guarneri

GUARNERI, Pietro (II) Born 1695 Cremona, died 1762 Venice Italy. Eldest son and pupil of Giuseppe Guarneri, ‘filius Andreae’, above. He left Cremona in about 1717 to work in Venice where he remained for the rest of his life. There were several busy workshops there at the time; not only the well-known violin makers Gofriller, Montagnana, Tononi, and Serafin, but also the important guitar-maker Matteo Sellas, any or all of whom would presumably have been happy to provide the young Cremonese with employment. His own labels date from c.1730, and he was at his most prolific from 1740-1750. Rightly famed for his cellos which unsurprisingly combine the virtues of the Venetian instrument with those of his own tradition, he also made numerous violins and at least one viola. The violins come in some variety, as do most Venetians, showing in some a preponderance of Amati, in others a broader flatter Stradivari style, but with more rounded ‘c’ bouts and prominent upper corners. The edge is usually broad and deeply worked, and the scroll also deeply cut and beautifully concentric. The soundholes are also notable, often set widely apart and of a fluid shape, the upper eye and wing contrastingly small compared with the open treatment of the lower wing and finial. Materials are often outstandingly fine and the varnish a limpid golden orange. Petrus Guarnerius Filius Joseph / Cremonensis fecit Venetijs / Anno 1750

Brother of Giuseppe Guarneri. In this maker, again, there is much originality, his work, together with his model, differing entirely from that of his brother, and in outline from that of his father Andrea. There is increased breadth between the sound-holes ; the sound-hole is rounder and more perpendicular ; the middle bouts are more contracted, and the model is more raised. The scroll abounds in individuality of design. The ear is brought out with much effect; the purfling is splendidly executed, the corners being worked up to that extreme point of delicacy which is characteristic of the works of Niccolo Amati. The purfling is embedded after the manner of Amati in his “grand” instruments, but to a greater extent. The varnish is superb ; its quality is of the richest description, and its transparency unsurpassed. Its colour varies ; it is sometimes of a golden tint, sometimes of a pale red, on which the light plays with delightful variety. Pietro Guarneri used some of the finest wood. The bellies are invariably wide in grain and very even.

Son of Giuseppe Giovan Battista Guarneri, grandson of Andrea, b. April 14, 1695, at Cremona. Worked first in Mantua and then in Venice till about 1760. He followed the patterns of his uncle Pietro, and may have been his pupil while in Mantua. His work is very good; his instruments are rather arched, have splendid varnish, and a fine rich tone. A most beautiful violoncello is known, the sides and back made of maple, beautifully marked, the varnish admirable, a golden amber colour tinted with rose, rather similar to that of Montagnana. In it is the label : ” Petrus Guarnerius filius Joseph Cremonensis fecit Venetiis, anno 1739″; a similar label is dated 1755-

Sohn von Giuseppe (»Joseph«),Schüler seines Vaters, später aber schloss er sich mehr an seinen Oheim Pietro an und machte recht hübsche Geigen nach dessen Modellen, wesshalb man ihre Arbeiten leicht verwechselt. In seinen letzten Jahren soll es ihm sehr schlecht gegangen sein. Ein dritter Pietro G. soll 1720—1750 in Mantua gelebt haben.