paul arnold
violins
Paul owns a Jean Baptiste Vuillaume 1855 Violin
Jean Baptiste Vuillaume(1798-1875) was born in Mirecourt, where he worked until he was 19. He then went to Paris where the influence of François Chanot led him to approach violin making in a scientific manner. This led to his study of acoustics, analyses of varnishes, and to experimentation of various kinds. He won many prizes and achieved recognition as the greatest technical genius of his time, surpassed in French violin making only by Nicholas Lupot. His violins were numbered and recorded in his shop.
Paul also owns a 1619 Nicolò Amati (1596–1684) Violin
Nicolò Amati, grandson of Andrea Amati, son and nephew of two other Amati instrument builders, is today considered the finest craftsman of this family of luthiers. This is fortunate, because he was the only member of his family and indeed the only violin maker in Cremona to survive the famine and plague that devastated that city in the years around 1630. In a very real sense, Nicolò single-handedly passed down the tradition of fine Cremonese violin making to subsequent generations. His violins (1974.229) were somewhat wider than other makers' instruments (a design we now call the "Grand Amati"), with a unique, beautifully shaped soundhole and a strong sound. During Nicolò's working life, the Amati workshop was one of the finest violin ateliers in Europe, training many apprentices who went on to careers as important instrument builders, possibly including the young Antonio Stradivari.