Paul François Blanchard (1851-1912) was born in Mirecourt. He worked as an apprentice to Auguste Dane in 1865, mainly to study the violin making style of the Vuillaume family. In 1870 he set up his own studio and began receiving awards in many exhibitions in France. He was the appointed luthier of the Lyons Conservatory, theaters, and the municipal symphony orchestra.
Blanchard was a sensitive and skilled instrument maker; he was dedicated to making top quality instruments and was equipped with the essential knowledge to modify the structure of instruments. Although he would cater to American customers in their fondness for reasonably priced instruments, he never made instruments of poor quality or timbre. He had the creativity to satisfy the demands of his customers and the ability to generate mass production. The timbre of his instruments is described as clean and stable, meeting a substantially high standard.
Blanchard followed the models of Stradivari and Guarneri. He worked with delicate craftsmanship and selected good quality wood resulting in brighter resonance. The timbre of his instruments is warm and bright but never artificial, allowing the four strings to project an even, harmonious resonance. He used a transparent, golden red varnish on most of his instruments.
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