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Revision as of 08:12, 11 May 2008

J.B.Vuillaume photo 1860 Moulin Workshop

Jean Baptiste Vuillaume (October 7 1798 – March 19 1875) was an illustrious French violin maker. He made over 3,000 instruments and was also a fine businessman and an inventor.

What set him apart from the rest is that he was not only an artist without equal, but also a tireless seeker of perfection to whom there was no such thing as failure. It was this driving force which shone through his life and made his work immortal.

— Roger Millant, Paris 1972.

Together with Lupot, Vuillaume is the foremost French stringed instrument maker and the most important of the Vuillaume family of luthiers

— E. Jaeger, curator of the Vuillaume exhibit in Cite de la Musique.

Biography

Early life

Born to a Mirecourt family since both his grandfather and his father were engaged in the same trade, Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume arrived in Paris in 1818 to work for François Chanot. In 1821, he joined the workshop of Simon Lété, François-Louis Pique's son-in-law, Rue Pavée St. Sauveur. He became his partner and in 1825 settled in the Rue Croix des Petits-Champs under the name of "Lété et Vuillaume". His first labels are dated 1823.

First period

Beginning in 1827, at the height of the Neo-Gothic period when many artists were drawing their inspiration from 15th and 16th century cathedrals and monuments, and in order to satisfy the demand of virtuosi and amateurs for great 18th century Italian violin makers, he started to imitate old instruments. Some copies were so perfect that, at that time, it was difficult even for a discerning eye to tell the difference.

In 1827, he won a silver medal at the Paris Universal Exhibition. The following year, in 1828, he set his own business at 46 Rue des Petits-Champs and began creating his own models.

Second period

His workshop then became the most important in the capital. Within barely twenty years, it became the leading workshop in Europe. A major factor in his success was doubtless his purchase of 144 instruments made by the most celebrated Italian masters, including 24 Stradivari and the famous Messiah Stradivarius presently kept at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford University, from the heirs of an Italian tradesman named Luigi Tarisio, for 80,000 francs in 1855.

Third period

In 1858, in order to avoid paying the capital's custom-duties on his wood imports, he settled Rue Pierre Demours, near the Ternes, which were at that time outside Paris.

He was then at the height of his reputation, having won various gold medals in the Competitions of the popular Paris Universal Exhibitions in 1839, 1844 and 1855, the Council Medal in London in 1851 and, in that same year, the Legion of Honour. His third period, the Golden Period, continued until his death.

Instruments

A maker of more than 3,000 instruments - almost all of which are numbered - and a fine tradesman, Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume was also a gifted inventor as is demonstrated by his research in collaboration with the acoustics expert Savart. He also invented a viola which he called a "contralto", the Octobass, bows with fixed nut and interchangeable hair, and hollow steel bows, particularly appreciated by Charles de Bériot, among others. Other innovations include the insertion of microfilms in the eye of the frogs of his bows, a kind of mute (the "pédale sourdine") and several machines, including one for manufacturing gut strings of perfectly equal thickness.

Most Great Bow Makers of the 19th century collaborated with his workshop including Jean Pierre Marie Persois, Dominique Peccatte, Nicolas Remy Maire, François Peccatte, Nicolas Maline, Pierre Simon, François Nicolas Voirin, Charles Peccatte, and Joseph Fonclause are among the most celebrated.

Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume was an innovative violin maker and restorer, and a tradesman who traveled all of Europe in search of instruments. Due to this fact, most instruments by the great Italian violin makers passed through his workshop. Vuillaume then made accurate measurements of their dimensions and made copies of them.

He drew his inspiration from two violin makers: Antonio Stradivari, his favorite violin being the "Le Messie (Messiah), and Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesù and the "Cannone" which belonged to Niccolò Paganini; others such as Maggini, Da Salò and Nicolò Amati were also imitated, but to a lesser extent.

Vuillaume's son-in-law Jean-Delphin Alard named it Le Messie because, he said, "this violin is like the Messiah of the Jews, because one always waits for him but he never appears."

Vuillaume made numerous copies of ‘Le Messie’, the more noteworthy among them being:

2236 of 1860

2374 of 1861;

2455 of 1863

2509 of 1863 which was sold off in auction after J.B.V.’s death

2541 of 1864 and 2556 of the same year, now to be found in the Musee d’Art in Geneve, with carved boxwood pegs and tail piece-the same which Vuillaume fitted to the original instrument.

2594 of 1865

A fine copy without number of the period 1868 Ex- Garcin, which once belonged to Wurlitzer, and Lewis of Chicago

and 2936 of 1873[1]


It is said that 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. He was only able to recognize the master instrument upon hearing subtle differences in tone during playing.

The copy violin was eventually passed on to Paganini’s only student, Camillo Sivori. Sivori owned great violins by Nicolò Amati, Stradivari, and Bergonzi, but the Vuillaume was his favourite.

When making these copies, Vuillaume always remained faithful to the essential qualities of the instruments he imitated - their thickness, the choice of the woods, and the shape of the arching. The only differences, always the result of a personal decision, were the colour of the varnish, the height of the ribs or the length of the instruments.

His most beautiful violins were often named after the people who owned them (Caraman de Chimay, Cheremetoff, Doria), or bore either the name of important biblical characters (the Evangelists) or bird names (the golden pheasant, the thrush).

He also had practice violins, known as "St Cecilia violins", made by his brother Nicolas de Mirecourt.

His main contribution to violin making was his work on varnish. The purfling's joints are often cut on the straight and not on the bias as was traditional, in the middle in the pin. His brand is burnt at a length of 1 cm. There is generally a black dot on the joint of the top under the bridge. He used an external mould. The stop is generally 193 mm long. In this respect he follows to the French 18th century tradition of a short stop (190 mm), which was traditionally 195 mm long in Italy and even 200 mm long in Germany. The violin's serial number is inscribed in the middle inside the instrument. Its date (only the last two figures) in the upper paraph on the back. His violins of the first period have large edges and his brand was then burnt inside the middle bouts. The varnish varied from orange-red to red. After 1860, his varnish became lighter.

In addition to the above-mentioned bow makers, most 19th century Parisian violin makers worked in his workshop, including Hippolyte Silvestre, Jean-Joseph Honoré Derazey, Charles Buthod, Charles-Adolphe Maucotel, Télesphore Barbé and Paul Bailly.


Nestor Audinot, a pupil of Sébastien Vuillaume, himself Jean-Baptiste's nephew, succeeded him in his workshop in 1875. Vuillaume died at the height of his career, widely regarded as the pre-eminent luthier of his day.

Specimen Labels

  • J.B. Vuillaume No. 4, Chez N.A. Lété rue Pavée-Saint-Sauveur no. 20 á Paris 1823
  • Jean Baptiste Vuillaume á Paris, rue Croix des Petits Champs
  • Jean Baptiste Vuillaume á Paris, 3 rue Demours-Ternes

The signature is usually followed by a doubly encircled JBV (J&B are joined). Early on, it was doubly encircled JBV. The labels at "Rue Croix Petits Champs" began using the doubly encircled JBV (J&B joined), which remained the same on "3 rue Demours-Ternes" labels.

Awards and medals

  • In 1827, Silver medal at the National Paris exhibition of the Industrial work.
  • In 1834, Silver medal at the Paris Universal Exhibition.
  • In 1844 and 1849, Gold medal at the Paris Universal Exhibition.
  • In 1851, Council medal at the International London Exhibition.
  • In 1855, Gold medal at the Paris International Exhibition.

The Vuillaume family

  • Sébastian Vuillaume Nephew of Jean-Baptiste, worked with his uncle during the golden period.
  • Claude Vuillaume – The oldest family member, a lute maker
  • Charles François Vuillaume (1755-1779 - particularly known for his workmanship and the mellow and responsive tone of his instruments
  • Claude François Vuillaume I (b. 1730)
  • Jean Vuillaume – Grandfather of Jean Baptiste. Apprenticed to Antonio Stradivari. His historicity is disputed as a fabrication of Jean Baptiste who may have been trying to create a mythology of family descendants going far back to Italy.
  • Claude François Vuillaume II (1772-1834) - Father of the Jean Baptiste.
  • Nicolas Vuillaume (1800-1871) – Second son of Claude François Vuillaume II. Made instruments of ‘trade’ quality.
  • Nicolas François Vuillaume (died 1876) – The third son of Claude François Vuillaume II. The most important luthier of the Vuillaume family next only to his brother Jean Baptist.
  • Joseph François Vuillaume (1804-1856) – Worked in Mirecourt, then Paris, and finally Lyon.

Violinists who have played Vuillaume instruments

See also

References

  • Millant, Roger (1972). J. B. Vuillaume: Sa Vie et son Oeuvre (in French). London: W.E. Hill. OCLC 865746.
  • "Violins, Vuillaume - A Great French Violin Maker of the 19th century". The Multimedia Encyclopedia. 1999.[not specific enough to verify]
  • Les Luthiers Parisiens aux XIX et XX siecles Tom 3 "Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume et sa famille : Nicolas, Nicolas-François et Sébastien" by Sylvette Milliot published by Edition les Amis des la Musique 2006
  • Jost Thöne: J.B.Vuillaume, Bildband mit originalgrossen Abbildungen, Bocholt 1998.
  • Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume - Violins and Violinists Series of Violin Makers published by William Lewis and Son
  • Les Trésors de la Lutherie Française du XIXe siècle", Paris c 1992

Quotes

"Jean Baptiste was born in Mirecourt, where he worked until he was 19. He then went to Paris where the influence of François Chanot led him to approach violin making in a scientific manner. This led to his study of acoustics, analyses of varnishes, and to experimentation of various kinds. He won many prizes and achieved recognition as the greatest technical genius of his time, surpassed in French violin making only by Nicholas Lupot." - Smithsonian Institution

"As to the numbering system, for the most part, his instruments were numbered. But the very fine copies especially those of 'Le Messie' Strad, Guarneri Del Gesu 'Canon' and Del Gesu 'David'(which Ferdinand David owned) and Maggini are without Number(s).

According to Doring's tabulation (made between 1947-1961), there were at least 78 instruments Vuillaume made (between 1830's to 1874) which were not recorded by number, and are outstanding and magnificent" - Filimonov Fine Musical Instruments

  1. ^ R. Millant – J.B. Vuillaume
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