Giuseppe Giovanni Battista Guarneri

Giuseppe Giovanni Battista Guarneri, better known as Giuseppe filius Andrea Guarneri (25 November 1666 – 1739/1740) was a violin maker from the prominent Guarneri family of luthiers who lived in Cremona, Italy.

Biography

Early life Giovanni Battista Giuseppe Guarneri (known as Giuseppe ‘filius Andreae’) was born on November 25, 1666, to Andrea Guarneri and Anna Maria Orcelli, in the parish of San Matteo in Cremona. A few years earlier his father had left the workshop of Nicolò Amati. Giuseppe, also known as "Joseph Guarnerius, filius Andreæ" (in Latin) was the younger son of Andrea Guarneri. Giuseppe's older brother, Pietro Giovanni Guarneri (Pietro I, 1655; 1720), was a musician as well as a violinmaker.

Apprenticeship In 1677, Pietro married Caterina Sussagni, but he continued to live in the family home. Young Giuseppe probably entered his father's workshop at this time. By 1685, Giuseppe's workmanship had surpassed their father's, and when Andrea died in 1698 Giuseppe took over the shop.

Competition with Stradivari A promising young violin maker named Antonio Stradivari was emerging, who in 1680 moved his workshop to the Piazza San Domenico, just a few metres away from the Casa Guarneri.

Guarnerius style Around 1705, Giuseppe introduced a new violin model with a wider upper bout and a narrower middle bout that is distinctively squarish in shape. He also changed the soundholes from the short and sinuous Amati style to a longer and more rigid design. Giuseppe's design was influenced by Gasparo da Salo of Brescian School, and incorporated some of the stylistic refinements of his older brother (Peter of Mantua); the outline tended to be more narrow waisted, the f-holes were lower and more elegant, and he used a richer, more Brescian varnish.

Notable violins A violin that Giuseppe created in 1706 became the subject of media attention in the 21st century. In 2016, a German commission recommended that the Franz Hofmann and Sophie Hagemann Foundation, which owns the violin, pay compensation to the heirs of a German Jewish man who had owned it in 1939 before committing suicide. In 2021 it was reported that the foundation was refusing to pay, which some observers noted could damage the credibility of future restitution efforts.

Giuseppe filius Andrea 's label Typical Giuseppe Guarneri label. Joseph Guarnerius, filius Andreæ fecit Cremonse, sub titulo S. Teresiae, 16XX

Translation: Joseph Guarnerius, son of Andrea made this in Cremona, under the title of Saint Theresa, 16XX