ANTONIO CASINI

IN FOCUS

A close look at the work of great and unusual makers

Antonio Casini is regarded as the very first violin maker to have been based in Modena. It is believed that he was born around 1630 and the archives of Modena Cathedral mention that a certain Antonio Casini, married to Lucia Taglini, died in the city on the night of 3 July 1690 aged around 75 (although whether this was indeed the luthier has yet to be confirmed).

Casini was thus an exact contemporary of the great Cremonese makers but, unlike his illustrious colleagues, very few details of his life have yet come to light. It is not known where he trained or wiThwhom. Also, the importance of his output is still a matter of dispute, as is whether he ever held the position of official maker to the court of Modena.

However, Casini’s career coincided wiThthe blossoming of Modena’s cultural activity. The city had begun to prosper and shine under the rule of Duke Francesco II d’Este (1660-94), a noted patron of the arts who played the violin himself. The composer Arcangelo Corelli dedicated his Trio Sonatas op.3 to him, and in 1674 the composer and violone virtuoso Giovanni Battista Vitali (father of Tomaso Vitali) was hired to be the court’s deputy maestro di capella.

MAKER

ANTONIO CASINI

NATIONALITY

ITALIAN

BORN

C.1630

DIED

1690

INSTRUMENT

VIOLIN

DATE

1675

PROVENANCE

For some time the violin shown here was thought to be French, because of the long corners and the Amati model that was popular in France at the very end of the 17Thcentury. The instruments of the Médard family, for instance, are similar. Then a vestige of a signature was found in its back, under a false label. This, combined wiTha better knowledge of Casini’s work, allows us to say wiThconfidence that the violin was made by the Modena maker in 1675. At least one more example of such a signature has been found in a Casini instrument, though the date was illegible. It is also probable, going by the few Casini violins we have, that the maker numbered his instruments (at least the violins). The violin described here bears the number 2 on the inside of boThthe top and back.

MATERIALS

The top is made from spruce wiThstrong grain. The head and ribs are from an austere type of maple wiThno figure. The back is made of two pieces of light figured maple of medium grain.

FORM AND CONSTRUCTION

The general outline of the body is very asymmetrical, leading us to think the violin was constructed using an internal mould. The C-bouts are rather round and open. The corners are long, especially in the back. It is inlaid wiTha 1.5mm purfling, wiThthe stained ‘black’ twice as thick as the ‘white’, and the mitres are nicely finished wiThbee-stings that point towards the centre of the corners. The fluting running all around the purfling is very light.

F-HOLES

The slanted f-holes are set wiThthe notches at 197mm. The cutting of the eyes is neat despite the strong grain of the spruce, demonstrating the superior quality of Casini’s craftsmanship

DeaThrecord of one Antonio Casini of 1690

Casini’s signature and the date 1675 were found under a false label

The number 2 appears on the interior, in the upper bout of the back

Above and below How the varnish of the top and back looks under UV light

SCROLL AND PEGBOX

The carving is somewhat basic (some would certainly call it rough). Gouge and chisel marks are left all around, hallmarks of a scroll made in a hurry. The back of the pegbox is rather thin and straight, and lightly hollowed. Compass pricks still appear on each eye of the scroll, a characteristic of Casini. Whereas usually they are positioned in the centre of the eye, here they are clearly off -centre. It is likely that in this particular case, Casini may not have precisely followed the outline he had traced before starting the carving. Despite the rough finish, this head demonstrates that Casini was actually quite a conscientious carver, in that boThsides of the scroll are far from asymmetrical.

VARNISH

This violin is covered wiTha light goldenorange oil varnish which is incredibly well preserved. There is no trace of pigments of any kind. Using pigments to colour the varnish was still very rare in the second part of the 17Thcentury. It is likely that makers of that era, because of the high cost of pigments, preferred to use diff erent techniques, such as cooking the rosin for a certain amount of time to increase the shade of their varnish. That is likely the method used here.

Casini obviously mastered the techniques of violin construction but seems to have deliberately avoided any aesthetic quality. He sought efficiency and simplicity instead, and indeed the apparent simplicity of this violin encapsulates its beauty.

The author wishes to thank Federica Collorafi, Roberto Lana and Philip Kass for their help wiThthis article.