Gennaro Gagliano

GAGLIANO, Gennaro Worked circa. 1730-1780 Naples Italy. Second son of Alessandro Gagliano, above. Possibly the best, certainly the most versatile, craftsman of the family. Used many patterns, mostly based on Amati and Stradivari precedents, accurately finished and with perfectly realised archings. An Amati copy once owned by Tarisio is said to have been made originally with an imitation Amati label; the fact that much of Gennaro’s work is unlabelled today implies that he may have been in the habit of using facsimile labels himself. Varnish of excellent quality, sometimes deeply coloured, but lacking the complexity and texture of Alessandro’s. Unlike most of the family, he used maple rather than beech for the purfling. Frequently found with an additional label fixed to the upper rib containing a dedication: In conceptione tua Virgo Maria Immaculata fuisti / Ora pro nobis Patrem, cujus Filium Jesu de Sp. s peperisti’ Printed label: Januarius Gaglianus alumnus / Antonii Stradiuarii fecit Neapoli Ao 1770 Januarius Gagliano fecit / Neapoli anno Domini 1736 Gennaro Gagliano fecit Neap. 17.. Januarius Gagliano filius / Alexandri. Fecit Neap. 17..

Januarius Gagliano, filius Alexandri fecit Neap, 1732.

Second son of Alessandro, brother of Nicola, b. about 1680, at Naples; d. 1750. He was the best maker of this family. He made few instruments, but put excellent work into them ; the pattern is good, slightly arched. He imitated his father in general outline and in thicknesses, was therefore really following the Stradivari pattern, but the sound-holes are shorter and wider. The wood was carefully selected, and the yellow varnish is beautiful, the quality of tone very fine ; his successors never succeeded in producing varnish equally beautiful, although a recipe in Gennaro’s own handwriting remained in the family ; he either purposely kept secret some essential ingredient, or forgot to make it known.
A magnificent violoncello, of perfect workmanship, dated Antonio Stradivari, 1732, is generally supposed to be Gennaro’s work ; the back and belly are more arched, the sides lower, the warm red-brown varnish darker and thicker than in Stradivari’s instruments. It was bought from Gennaro himself, about 1740, by an Italian, who sold it in 1765 to M. Champsor, a well known violoncellist in Marseilles ; on his death, in 1826, it passed from an amateur into the keeping of M. Bonnet, so that its tradition remains unbroken. If it could be proved that Gennaro made it, it would place him at once in the front rank of the great Italian makers. He seldom used labels for his instruments, and very often omitted to date them, so that it is not known exactly how many years he worked; but in 1730 his work was already excellent, and it steadily improved.
and “Januarius Gagliano filius Alexandri, fecit Neap., 1732 ” ; another similar one is dated 1741.
He sometimes pencilled his name on the inside of the belly.

Zweiter Sohn und Schüler seines Vaters Alessandro G., dessen Einfluss in
seiner Arbeit unverkennbar ist. Er ahmt das Stradivari-Modell nach, nur nimmt
er die Wölbung manchmal höher und macht auch die F-Löcher weiter und
steiler als sein Vorbild Seine beste Zeit ist zwischen 1730 und 1750; da er
jedoch nur selten Zettel eingeklebt hat und noch seltener die Jahreszahl ausfüllte,
ist das Alter seiner Geigen nicht immer leicht zu bestimmen, ja, man hat wegen des seltenen Vorkommens seiner Zettel gewiss mit Unrecht angenommen
dass er nur sehr wenig gearbeitet habe. Was man von ihm kennt, ist trefflich,
schönes Holz, prachtvoller orangegelber oder röthlicher Lack und herrlicher
Ton. Ein Cello von ihm ist jetzt wenigstens 4000 M. werth, eine aus dem
Jahre 1758 stammende Violine von ihm verkaufte Ch. Mahillon um 10 000 Frcs.
Gennaro G. kommt seinem Bruder Nicola G. vollkommen gleich, übertrifft ihn