SAMUEL NEMESSÁNYI

A close look at the work of great and unusual makers

Samuel Nemessányi is considered to be the finest violin maker in Hungarian history. However, his works are considered a rarity, partly because of his relatively small output (a total of c.60–70 violins, 4–5 violas and perhaps 7 cellos) and partly because several of his best instruments were sold as the work of the great Cremonese masters.

Nemessányi was born in 1837 in a small village near Liptószentmiklós (Verbicz- Husták) in the northern part of what was then the Kingdom of Hungary (now part of Slovakia). The son of a cobbler, he left the mountainous region aged 18 to learn carpentry in Budapest, but soon fell in love with violin making instead. In 1855 he began an apprenticeship at the workshop of Johann Baptist Schweitzer (1790–1865), the most famous luthier in Hungary at the time. After Schweitzer’s retirement in 1856 the workshop was taken over by Thomas Zach (1812–92), who helped improve the young Nemessányi’s skills for a further three years.

The regulations of the violin makers’ guild stipulated that an apprentice must spend a year abroad to study the craft; this was known as the ‘Wandering Book’. So in 1859 Nemessányi went to Prague, to obtain further training at the prestigious workshop of Anton Sitt (1819–78). He had no language difficulties because he spoke Czech and German as well as Hungarian, as his eldest son Béla recalled much later.

Nemessányi returned to Hungary in 1860, and married Magdolna Boldizsár in Szeged the following year. He did not spend much time in one place; he worked in Pécs, Debrecen and Kassa. He finally settled in Pest with his family, and opened his own shop at Hajó utca 7, formerly the workshop of Ferenc Tischinant who had died in 1860 leaving all his tools behind. He became a member of the Hungarian violin makers’ guild the same year. At this time there was a significant boom in Pest’s musical life, when Pest and Buda were two separate parts of the city.

Then later they merged becoming Budapest in 1873.

With his bohemian personality, Nemessányi led a life determined by passionate and tireless creative work, although he experienced failure and unhappiness in his private life. He died at the age of 44.

He was a brilliant imitator of classical Cremonese instruments, but rather than copying them perfectly, he used larger measurements for the body, making the middle and lower parts wider. There are no pins at all on his instruments. His interior work is always neatly executed, and the octagon-like shaping of the central blocks carries on the tradition of the Schweitzer school.

These features are recognisable on his instruments, relieving us of confusing them with the noble Cremonese predecessors’ works in age and in nominal terms. As an unparalleled talent Nemessányi created instruments which embody the aesthetics of a masterpiece of sound and appearance for artists and connoisseurs to this day.

ALL PHOTOS ZOLTÁN DÉLCZEG

MAKER SAMUEL NEMESSÁNYI

NATIONALITY HUNGARIAN

BORN 1837

DIED 1881

INSTRUMENT VIOLIN

DATE 1865

MATERIALS, FORM AND CONSTRUCTION

Nemessányi always selected fine materials, as can be seen in this 1865 violin, made on a Stradivari model. The one-piece back of quarter-cut maple has deep flames ascending from left to right. The front is made from two pieces of spruce with medium fine grain. The interior work is accurate, with spruce linings mortised with precision into the octagonally shaped willow corner-blocks. The button is wider (21.6mm) and more oval, with marked notches, features that are often seen in Nemessányi’s work.

According to a dendrochronology report by Peter Ratcliff, the most recent tree-ring on the bass side is from 1806, and on the treble side from 1805.

PURFLING

The two stained ‘black’ strips vary in thickness in certain areas, while the inner ‘white’, made from maple, is thicker. The outer strips extend further into the corners. The edges are rounded, and the distance from the outer strip of purfling is 3.9mm.

ARCHING AND F-HOLES

The arching is well executed and gently carved, with no straight lines from the profile view. The f-holes are very cleanly cut with upright oval holes and slightly hollowed lower wings. The distance between the upper eyes is 42.9mm.

SCROLL

The scroll is symmetrical and particularly nicely carved, with a well-formed throat. Some tool marks remain, and there is some evidence of antiquing (which can also be seen on some on his other instruments).

VARNISH

The violin is covered with a soft, rich-textured, amber– orange varnish, over a warm, reflective ground.

Nemessányi has applied the layers with great care.

LABEL

The label reads: ‘Samuel Nemessanyi fecit ad formam / Antonii Stradiuarii Pestini 1865’