Violin, Giulio Degani, 1907 Venezia
父の伝統を受け継ぎながらも、Giulioは次第に独自のスタイルを確立。精緻なエッジワークやスクロール、特徴的なモデルとニスなどに優れた個性を示し、その製作は20世紀初頭から渡米する1915年頃までに最盛期を迎えたと評価されています。1915年にはアメリカへ移住し、Wurlitzerのニューヨークおよびシンシナティの工房で活動しました。
今回ご紹介するヴァイオリンは1907年、ヴェネツィアで製作された一挺。 Giulioがアメリカへ渡る以前、その製作活動が充実していたイタリア時代の作品です。
二枚のメイプルによる裏板には明瞭で美しい杢が広がり、オレンジからゴールデン・ブラウンへと変化する温かみのあるニスをまとっています。さらに、三本の黒と二本の白からなる五層のパーフリングも、この楽器を特徴づけるディテールのひとつです。ボディ長は約360mmとやや大ぶりで、Deganiならではの個性的な造形と、ヴェネツィア派の伝統を感じさせる一挺です。
Giulio Ettore Degani (1875–1959) was one of the leading makers of the modern Venetian school. Trained from an early age in the workshop of his father, Eugenio Degani, a key figure in the revival of Venetian violin making, Giulio took over the family workshop following Eugenio’s death in 1901.
While continuing his father’s tradition, Giulio gradually developed a distinctive personal style, characterized by refined edgework and scroll carving, individual models, and richly coloured varnish. His work is considered to have reached its peak during the early twentieth century, before his emigration to the United States in 1915, where he later worked for Wurlitzer in New York and Cincinnati.
The violin presented here was made in Venice in 1907, during this important period of Degani’s career and several years before his departure for America.
The two-piece maple back displays strong, attractive figure, complemented by a warm varnish ranging from orange-red to golden brown. Particularly characteristic is the five-ply purfling, composed of three black and two white strips. With a back length of approximately 360 mm, the violin has a slightly generous model and combines Degani’s highly individual craftsmanship with the distinctive tradition of the Venetian school.
