FAMILY FORTUNES

Zosimo Bergonzi, son of Carlo, was for a time the only luthier active in Cremona – but until recently the string world knew of only one instrument by him. Michel Samson tracks his career through his known works, which now number more than thirty

Timeline showing the dates of some of the main Cremonese makers between the 17th and 19th centuries

INSTRUMENT PHOTOS NATHAN TOLZMANN. TABLE ANGELA LYONS

There exists a 1746 census return of the Casa Stradivari, wherein Zosimo Bergonzi is mentioned after his father Carlo but before his older brother Michele Angelo. We will likely never know the reason why this census breaks the tradition of listing siblings by birth order but, since there are now more instruments ascribed to Zosimo than by his elder brother Michele Angelo, could it be that his placement in this census return is an indication of his importance in the shop?

Up to now, Zosimo Bergonzi’s instruments have been often identified as ‘school of’ or ‘circle of’, but the key to solving the problem of his identification is in plain sight because, after the death of Michele Angelo in 1758 and through the early 1760s, there follows a period of almost ten years when Zosimo was the only violin maker in Cremona. The weight of carrying on this grand tradition rested solely on his shoulders.

Were it not for Dmitry Gindin’s seminal 2001 book The Late Cremonese Makers, we would still be in the dark about Zosimo Bergonzi’s output. In this volume, Gindin reserves a special chapter for Zosimo’s life and work, even though his acknowledged output at that point only comprised a quartersize violin and two violin moulds bearing his name. The quarter-size violin bears the original label dated 1775 and has been a great help in identifying other violins by Zosimo, as well as two violas and three cellos. The two violin moulds apparently share similarities with the Stradivari ‘P’ form in shape, type of wood, holes and block openings. According to Gindin, the first form shows signs of usage and has many wood fragments left in the corner recesses.

The aforementioned moulds, preserved in Cremona’s Museo del Violino, are as important in the identification of Zosimo’s instruments as the quarter-size child’s violin that carries his label. In 1745, Zosimo’s father Carlo joined the Stradivari workshop to assist in finishing the instruments remaining there after Stradivari’s death in 1737. It is therefore not only natural that Zosimo’s work shows clear links to that of his father, but also that his instruments show an affinity with those made in the Stradivari shop in the 1730s. Apart from those strong affinities, above all they show a clear resemblance to the aforementioned little violin. Notwithstanding the great merit of Gindin’s book and the extensive research done by Duane Rosengard concerning the life of Carlo Bergonzi, we are still dealing with a period in Cremonese history that is filled with dark and unknown corners, particularly after the demise of Stradivari and Guarneri ‘del Gesù’. Presumably, this is the reason the Hills wrote the following passage regarding the passing of the latter in their book The Violin Makers of the Guarneri Family:

Above Zosimo Bergonzi’s name appears above that of his brother Michele Angelo in this census return from the Casa Stradivari

…with the master’s death passed away, in reality, the greatness of the Cremonese school of violin making. The last of the Amati and the two sons of Stradivari were dead: True, Carlo Bergonzi was still living, he was an old man and died in February 1747 – but we see no signs of him at work, neither were his sons at all active. Yes, Cremona’s golden era of instrument making had indeed passed away, the founding of which was the direct outcome of that wonderful environment which we associate with the Renaissance Period, a time of intense intellectual and artistic activity, which spread throughout the land.

Considering the lingering misinformation in this long-held Victorian view of Cremonese violin making, I hope with this article to promote our collective assimilation of more historically accurate findings.

Zosimo Bergonzi’s signature appears on both of the violin moulds attributed to him

Above and below For a long time, the quarter-size violin shown here was the only known instrument made by Zosimo Bergonzi

ALL PHOTOS COURTESY DMITRY GINDIN

We now know that violin making in Cremona did not come to a grinding halt. And I believe that we have found an answer to the question Gindin raises: ‘Can this little violin then serve as a key to further knowledge of Zosimo Bergonzi the maker?’ I, for one, believe we have found the identity of Zosimo Bergonzi.

The instruments we now identify as Zosimo’s work all show such strong resemblance to one another that it is hard to ignore the personality they exude. This is especially evident in the scrolls, the shaping of the f-holes and, of course, their unmistakable outlines. I will be the first to admit, however, that the proof of Zosimo the violin maker is largely circumstantial. Then again, most violin expertise could be called ‘circumstantial’ because none of us were there when the instruments were created. But as everyone knows, circumstantial evidence can hold up in a courtroom and therefore I think it is applicable in the arena of violin expertise.

At this point I would like to reflect on the importance of the Rugeri family – a crucial element in the unfolding of Zosimo Bergonzi’s story. It began with the noted violin maker Francesco Rugeri, who lived outside the walls of Cremona. He had four sons: Giovanni Battista, Giacinto, Vincenzo and Carlo, the youngest. Carlo was trained by his father and inherited his tools upon his father’s death in 1698.

It was, however, Vincenzo who successfully continued the family tradition. By 1690 he had opened his own shop in the heart of Cremona. He attained significant financial success and the quality of his instruments is remarkable. With such a successful shop, one pertinent question arises: who assisted Vincenzo between 1690 and his death in 1719? Both his sons, Francesco (b.1704) and Carlo (b.1707), were too young to have been trained by their father. Thus, Vincenzo would have had ample economic incentive to recruit a suitable apprentice from outside the family. The hypothesis is that Carlo Bergonzi was probably the assistant so sorely needed in the Vincenzo Rugeri shop.

The development of violin making is seldom linear. Having carefully examined quite a few Zosimo Bergonzis, I have concluded that he both looked back at the great Cremonese tradition, and looked forward, imparting this sensibility to his sons, Nicola and Carlo II.

It was a Bergonzi family tradition to work for other shops. In days of yore, it was variously and wrongly assumed that Carlo learnt his craft in the Stradivari shop. This was unlikely because two of Stradivari’s sons, Francesco and Omobono, were already working for him. Others have put forward the idea that Carlo was a journeyman in the shop of Giuseppe Guarneri ‘filius Andreae’. This is also highly unlikely since the Guarneri family was facing dire financial difficulties at that time. So it makes sense to assume he was in fact an assistant in Vincenzo Rugeri’s shop.

THE INSTRUMENTS WE NOW IDENTIFY AS ZOSIMO’S ALL SHOW STRONG RESEMBLANCE TO ONE ANOTHER

A selection of Zosimo Bergonzi scrolls, including that of the quarter-size violin (left)

Zosimo’s f-holes also show the same consistency in style

ALL PHOTOS NATHAN TOLZMANN

From 1715 onwards we can clearly see Carlo Bergonzi’s hand in various productions of other Cremonese shops. They stand out because the outlines have a narrow waist, the f-holes are slanted and close to the edges, and the scrolls have narrow chamfers. These specific trademarks can be observed in the production of many shops. According to Julian Hersh’s two-part article for Tarisio, ‘Late Period Stradivari Cellos’ in 2017, Carlo’s hand is even evident in the production of Stradivari’s cellos, namely the ‘Pleeth’ which carries an original label: Sotto la Disciplina d’Antonio Stradivari.

Returning to the masterpieces of the 1730s, we see not only a high level of craftsmanship but also very glamorous materials. Though we sometimes see instruments that have wings in the back and even some filled wormholes, they are quite often finished with a luminous red varnish of beautiful composition and laid over a golden ground. Considering the excellent craftsmanship and yet the paucity of instruments, I think this is an indication that Carlo Bergonzi and his two sons were busy journeymen working mostly for other shops.

CARLO BERGONZI AND HIS TWO SONS WERE BUSY JOURNEYMEN WORKING MOSTLY FOR OTHER SHOPS

According to A Cremonese Master Unveiled, Christopher Reuning’s catalogue of the 2010 Bergonzi exhibition in Cremona, there are ten Bergonzi labels generally agreed upon to be original. Two are believed to have been made in the 1720s and the remaining eight appear in instruments made after 1730. Relatively early, we can detect the hand of Michele Angelo – and I believe the hand of Zosimo as well – appearing in the works. Carlo Bergonzi’s ‘Spanish’ cello is considered, according to Reuning, to have been made with the help of Michele Angelo. From here on, the violins illustrated in A Cremonese Master Unveiled show the participation of his sons. Here we have yet another indication they were journeymen, in this case working for their father.

When viewed from the back, Zosimo Bergonzi’s bass-side upper corners tend to point outwards

If the paterfamilias Carlo Bergonzi established this journeyman tradition, it is not so far-fetched to assume that it must also have influenced his two sons and even his two grandsons, Nicola and Carlo II. This also explains why Zosimo remained such a mystery. Michele Angelo, the eldest son, inherited a degree of craftsmanship, but for one reason or another never reached the high level that his father Carlo had attained. In The Late Cremonese Makers there are five instruments pictured and Gindin rightly says these represent the core of Michele Angelo’s production.

Somehow the instruments made by Zosimo Bergonzi emanate a certain strength, in both their appearance and their powerful tonal quality. Instead of slavishly adhering to Cremonese traditions, he somehow appropriates them. He lays claim in his own way to the culturally significant and repurposes them to his own ends.

In examining the works of Zosimo Bergonzi, the careful observer can note that, when viewed from the back, the outline of Zosimo’s work is a mixture of his father’s and late Stradivari. The right (bass) side shows a slight tendency to have a pinched waist with the upper corner pointing out. The left side (treble) upper corner points down.

The purfling is often not as evenly placed as one would find ideal. The ‘black’ and the ‘white’ strips of purfling are generally the same width and about 3mm from the margin. Where the purfling approaches the mitres, the ‘white’ becomes slightly wider. The mitres, in contrast to the violins of Michele Angelo, point quite far into the corners, leaving about 2mm of space between the points, straight into the centre of the corners. The edgework, especially in the corners and the C-bouts, is quite generous and rounded. The outer ‘black’ strip is raised in the purfling channel. In the examples where there are locating pins, they are away from the purfling. Lastly, Zosimo follows the Cremonese tradition of moving the purfling away from the margin just past the widest point of the C-bouts, allowing room to make a graceful bend into the mitres. This is also the place where one sees the ‘white’ strip widen.

In contrast to Michele Angelo’s violins, the mitres point quite far into the corners

BACK PHOTO NATHAN TOLZMANN. CORNER PHOTO DARNTON & HERSH

The arching of the belly rises immediately behind the purfling channel and maintains its apex along the centre of the instrument, finishing on the other side by descending into the purfling channel, not unlike the archings in Stradivaris of the early 1730s. Even though the general layout of the instrument owes much to the influence of Stradivari, Zosimo’s instruments never have the finish that one finds in those of his illustrious forebear. The arching height at the bridge is around 2cm.

The f-holes, on the other hand, show a faint indebtedness to Giuseppe Guarneri ‘del Gesù’ in their design. However, the placement and the cut of the nicks in the f-hole stems is quite different – almost identical to the way this was done by his father Carlo and his teacher, Vincenzo Rugeri. The relatively broad lower f-hole wings almost always have pronounced spurs. The lower finials turn back towards the f-hole stem exactly in the way one can observe in the child’s violin that carries Zosimo’s label.

Where one sees the most consistent evidence in Zosimo’s work is in the scroll. The turns are quite low on the surface of the volute. The turn that enters the eye on the treble side is usually carved at almost six o’clock, whereas on the bass side it enters the eye slightly past that point. When viewed from the back, the treble eye appears closer to the main body than the bass side.

The fluting along the centre spine is wider on the treble side than the bass side. But when viewed from the front, the bass side is wider towards the chin. The centre spine ends at the base of the pegbox with two strokes that leave a triangular shape at the base. The bevel on the outer walls of the pegbox is wider on the right side than the left side.

The f-nicks are similar to those of Carlo Bergonzi; the lower wings have pronounced spurs; and the lower finials turn back towards the stem

Zosimo tended to choose nicely flamed oppio for his backs

The turn that enters the eye on the treble side is usually carved at almost six o’clock. The lower part of the pegbox sticks out.

The centre spine ends at the base of the pegbox with two strokes that leave a triangular shape at the base

ALL PHOTOS NATHAN TOLZMANN

The pegbox shape owes a lot to those made in the Stradivari shop in the 1730s. The side view of the pegbox has an especially graceful shape because the lower part of the pegbox sticks out further than one would normally see in most other makers. These characteristics are present on all the existing instruments by Zosimo.

The choice of wood is almost always a nicely flamed oppio (field maple) with sometimes strongly marked year rings. This is the kind of wood one would find in the Po Valley. The blocks and linings are made of willow. The interior work is, for the most part, cleaner than one would expect. Corner-blocks have cleanly cut mortises to let the linings in. Minimal tool marks are visible in the ribs. There are traces of knife and rasp marks to trim back the linings. (These observations comes from careful examination of one typical example.) As more examples are found, we may discover that on occasion Zosimo may have used different woods for the blocks and linings.

The varnish on his best instruments is, both in consistency and colour, of a deep red on a beautiful golden ground – almost, but never quite on the same level as his father’s best varnishes. In any case, I have never seen a Zosimo with the pasty varnish to be observed on his brother Michele Angelo’s violins. When Zosimo uses a golden yellow, it too is of high quality never seen on the Cremonese generation that follows Zosimo.

So many instruments have now been identified as Zosimo Bergonzi’s handiwork that it is surely time to re-evaluate their place in the violin market, as it is clear that his instruments truly represent the compelling aspects of the great Cremonese violin making tradition.

The author wishes to thank Stefan and Julian Hersh, and James Warren for their help with this article