Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesù – violino 1742

Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesù

Violin. 1742, Cremona, Italia

Label: «Joseph Guarnerius fecit Cremonae anno 1742»

Measurement (millimeters)

Lenght of the body: 350

Width of the upper bouts: 165

Width of the lower bouts: 204

With of the lower bouts, taken at the narrowest point: 108,5

This violin made byGiuseppe Guarneri del Gesù was made during the last period of the activity of the Master. Among the features of this period there is a slight  asymmetry of the belly that is 4 mm narrower than the back;  nevertheless the instrument is a model of absolute harmony of the design.

The sides of the back and the belly are not high and are raised bythe sides of the instrument. It appears that the middle cuts have no frame. The pattern of this model belongs to the violins by Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesù. Inside the instrument there is the original and well preserved label. The sound of the violin is very soft, balanced on every single string.

Around 1870 Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume bought the instrument for the Russian violinist Aleksandra Unkovskaja. After her death the instrument joined the State Collection.

The instrument was played by Aleksandra Unkovskaja, Mikhail Rejson, Mikhail Vajman.