AGUSTÍ ALTIMIRA

A close look at the work of great and unusual makers

In the 18th century, Spanish luthiers were heavily influenced by their Italian counterparts, but in the 19th the style became more influenced by the French makers who settled in Madrid and Barcelona. This is the case with the Catalan violin maker Agustí Altimira. Born in Barcelona, he began his apprenticeship with his mentor and neighbour Joan Matabosch, and was later trained by the Mirecourt luthier Étienne Maire Breton, who established a workshop in Barcelona in the mid-19th century and worked there for some decades before returning to France.

Altimira had his workshop in the Calle Escudellers, where the Guillami family and makers such as Salvador Bofill and Josep Massaguer worked in the 18th century. Altimira’s workshop, along with that of the España family, was one of the most important in Barcelona at the time. He made a good number of violins, violas and cellos, and his double basses are still admired for their quality and deep, rich sound.

MATERIALS

Numbered 57, this 1847 violin is designed on a Stradivari model. The one-piece back is made from very handsome, narrow, fine-flamed maple, which has also been used for the ribs and scroll. The spruce for the top plate has quite a marked narrow grain, growing wider towards the edges.

There is an evident difference between the Pyrenees wood used by the 18thcentury Catalan makers and that used by those of the 19th century, mostly from France. Spruce from the Pyrenees has a strong marked winter grain, while the maple is less flamed than that of central Europe, and contains tiny spots.

PURFLING AND CORNERS

The purfling is made with a central wide strip of maple and two stained narrow side strips which have faded from black to dark grey. The corners, a little worn, are of a very marked French style, as are the purfling joints, which have a long outer black strip in the ‘bec de corveau’ manner, towards the end of each corner.

F-HOLES AND ARCHING

The f-holes, sober and elegant, are cut and designed on a personal model. The arching is quite low and progressive, only a little higher on the top. The fluting is very smooth and wide.

SCROLL

The scroll is small, light and graceful in relation to the elegant pegbox. The chamfer of the volute is a little wide, especially towards the central button. The back of the pegbox is gently carved.

VARNISH

Nearly all instruments made by Altimira have a very thin and transparent yellow– gold varnish, as he never used brown or red pigments. The colour is always plain and evenly applied; he never made any attempt to antique it, nor apply brush strokes simulating shades of colour.

LABEL / IRON BRAND

Altimira’s labels, which he used for all violins, violas and cellos, include his name and the street name and number. He later added, in his own handwriting, the instrument number and year.

Altimira used three different labels depending on the workshop, as he moved three times. Sometimes he used an iron brand, which can mostly be seen on his double basses.

MAKER

AGUSTÍ ALTIMIRA

NATIONALITY

SPANISH

BORN

1805

DIED

1882

INSTRUMENT

VIOLIN

DATE

1847