Andrea Guarneri
| Andrea Guarneri | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1626 Cremona, Italy |
| Died | December 7, 1698 (aged 72) Cremona, Italy |
| Nationality | Italian |
| Known for | violin making |
| Spouse(s) | Anna Maria Orcelli |
| Children | Angela Teresa, Pietro Giovanni, Eusebio Amati and Giovanni Battista |
Andrea Guarneri (1626–1698) was an Italian luthier and founder of the house of Guarneri violin makers.
Thought to be born in 1626 to Bartolomo Guarneri in the parish of Cremona, Italy, very little is known about Andrea Guarneri's family of origin. There are records of a wood-carver by the name of Giovanni Battista Guerine, which may have been an alternative spelling of Guarneri, living near the residence of Nicolò Amati in Cremona in 1632, and he may be supposed to be a relative. By 1641 the young Andrea was living with Nicolò Amati and being instructed in the art of violin making, probably working alongside Francesco Ruggieri and Antonio Stradivari who were also an apprentices at the same time. In 1652, while still living in the Amati household, Andrea married Anna Maria Orcelli, daughter of Orazio Orcelli. The young Guarneri family finally left the Amati's household in 1654, and Andrea probably removing himself from Amati's workshop and patronage at that time. They moved to the house of Guarneri's father-in-law, the Casa Orcelli, which eventually became the Casa Guarneri. Anna Maria soon bore a daughter, Angela Teresa, followed just over a year later by a son, Pietro Giovanni, who was eventually to carry on his father's violin making. In 1655 we have the first proof that Andrea had definitively left Amati's workshop, in the form of a label in a violin dated 1655, which says "ex Allumnis Nicolai Amati". In all previous labels "Alumnus" was written without the prefix "ex". However, it is thought that even quite some time after both Andrea Guarneri and Francesco Ruggieri left Amati's workshop they occasionally made entire instruments for their former master, which bear the Amati label.
By the mid-1660s Andrea and Anna Maria had had two more sons, Eusebio Amati, born in 1658, and Giovanni Battista in 1666. Despite their third son Eusebio's namesake, and probably his god-parent, he was the only son not to follow in his father's footsteps to the violin making trade. No further information on Eusebio is available. By evidence in the workmanship of his violins, it is thought that by 1670 or 1675 at least his eldest son Pietro Giovanni (later known as Pietro of Mantua), was making his presence known in the Guarneri workshop. Some of the instruments become lighter, and show a Stradivarian influence. Eventually entire instruments appear to be made by Pietro Giovanni's hand, though they contain the original Andrea Guarneri label. But the cooperation between father and son was short-lived. In 1679, at the age of 24 Pietro's name appears for the last time in the census at his father's house. He soon moved to Mantua and became successful in his own right.
...
Wikipedia