Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume (1798-1875) was born into family with a long tradition in violin making in the city of Mirecourt. He studied the craft of violin making in his father’s luthier shop and moved to Paris at the age of 19. Two years later he began working with Georges Chanot (1801-1873) and soon after worked as an assistant for organ maker Lété Pillement. At the age of 27 Vuillaume and Pillement became partners specializing in organ making but also the repair and maintenance of string instruments.
Starting from 1828, Vuillaume became an independent luthier. He was especially interested in Stradivari’s instruments. Vuillaume is often credited as the first luthier who fused traditional luthier techniques with theories of physics. In terms of acoustics, Vuillaume’s instruments tend to project a dynamic, powerful quality in timbre.
In addition, Vuillaume’s status as a repairer of string instruments meant he had access to many first-rate Italian instruments. This allowed him to easily create imitations of many exceptional instruments, to the extent that one could not distinguish them from the originals. However, this cost Vuillaume his reputation and earned him the notoriety as an unethical forger. However, Vuillaume’s strategy was not without basis. When Vuillaume first launched his own instruments, although they were of substantial quality they attracted very little attention. Most of the buyers had their eyes on the instruments made by ancient luthiers and the prices of those instruments were determined by wealthy collectors. The appraisal of experts was not the main factor in determining the prices of instruments.
Among Villaume’s works, his Stradivari imitations drew noticeable attention. His imitations of Stradivari instruments were well-praised and were sold at excellent prices at auctions, which helped to spread his reputation as a luthier. As Vuillaume made more outstanding instruments, he gradually stopped making imitations and began manufacturing and selling his own instruments. These “genuine Vuillaumes” came to be seen as representative of the French school of violin making and were played by excellent musicians. His instruments were especially known for their superior quality in timbre.
Vuillaume spent many years of his life studying the art of varnish; as discovered by posterity, it was found that the varnishes used by Vuillaume were identical to those used on ancient Italian string instruments, with a texture that was richer and thicker. In his choice of wood, Vuillaume used superior wooden material mostly from Switzerland, Tyrol, and Dalmatia.
Vuillaume not only accomplished great achievements in the realm of violin making, he also held an indisputably influential position in the selling of string instruments.
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