1. Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume was not only one of the finest French luthiers of the 19th century but a key figure in the world of violin making.
24 Facts About Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume
1. 2.
Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume's vision was the ethics and beauty of the Cremona school.
3.
Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume moved to Paris in 1818 to work for Francois Chanot.
4.
Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume became his partner and in 1825 settled in the Rue Croix-des-Petits-Champs under the name of "Lete et Vuillaume".
5.
Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume's workshop became the most important in Paris and within twenty years, it led Europe.
6.
Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume was at the height of success, having won various gold medals in the competitions of the Paris Universal Exhibitions in 1839,1844 and 1855; the Council Medal in London in 1851 and, in that same year, the Legion of Honour.
7.
Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume created the hollow steel bow, and the 'self-rehairing' bow.
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Antonio Stradivari 8.
Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume designed a round-edged frog mounted to the butt by means of a recessed track, which he encouraged his bowmakers to use; other details of craft make it possible to identify the actual maker of many Vuillaume bows.
9.
Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume was an innovative violin maker and restorer, and a tradesman who traveled all of Europe in search of instruments.
10.
Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume then made accurate measurements of their dimensions and made copies of them.
11.
Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume drew his inspiration from two violin makers and their instruments: Antonio Stradivari and his "Le Messie", and Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesu and his "Il Cannone" which belonged to Niccolo Paganini; others such as Maggini, Da Salo and Nicola Amati were imitated, but to a lesser extent.
12.
Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume made numerous copies of his favorite violin "Le Messie", the more noteworthy among them being:.
13.
Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume was able to craft such a perfect replica of "Il Cannone", that upon viewing them side by side, Paganini was unable to tell which was the original.
14.
Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume was able to recognize the master instrument only upon hearing subtle differences in tone during playing.
15.
Sivori owned great violins by Nicolo Amati, Stradivari, and Bergonzi, but the Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume was his favourite.
16.
Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume had practice violins, known as "St Cecile violins", made by his brother Nicolas de Mirecourt.
17.
Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume died at the height of his career, widely regarded as the pre-eminent luthier of his day.
18.
Together with Nicolas Lupot, Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume is the foremost French stringed instrument maker and the most important of the Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume family of luthiers.
19.
In 1855, Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume was able to acquire it, and it remained with him, until his death.
20.
Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume guarded the 'Messiah' jealously, keeping it in a glass case and allowing no one to examine it.
21.
Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume soon found the sale of violins, issued as new works without any semblance of antiquity, an unprofitable undertaking and, recognizing the growing demand in all parts of the world for instruments resembling the great works of Cremona, he determined to apply his great skill as a workman, and his extraordinary familiarity with Stradivari's models, to the construction of faithful copies of the greatmaster's works.
22.
Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume spared no pains in striving after perfection in the quality of his materials, and he treated the obscure and difficult problem of the varnish with a success which has probably not been equalled by any other maker since their time.
23.
Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume then went to Paris where the influence of Francois Chanot led him to approach violin making in a scientific manner.
24.
Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume won many prizes and achieved recognition as the greatest technical genius of his time, surpassed in French violin making only by Nicolas Lupot.