Carlo Bisiach
Encyclopedia
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. Bisiach’s work contributed to the rebirth of violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
making in the region after the difficult times of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
After working with his father Leandro
Leandro Bisiach
-Biography:Leandro Bisiach was a violin maker born in Casale Monferrato Italy and died in 1945 at Venegono Superiore.Trained as a violinist, he made his first violin on his own and received praise for it. Thus he decided to become a violin maker and moved to Milan to work with the Antoniazzi...
in Milan, Carlo established himself at Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
in 1926. The most talented of Leandro’s sons, Carlo went on to develop his own style quite separate from the Antoniazzi-derived work of his father and brothers.
Biography
Carlo Bisiach was born in Milan on March 9, 1892, and died on April 23, 1968.The son and student of Leandro Bisiach
Leandro Bisiach
-Biography:Leandro Bisiach was a violin maker born in Casale Monferrato Italy and died in 1945 at Venegono Superiore.Trained as a violinist, he made his first violin on his own and received praise for it. Thus he decided to become a violin maker and moved to Milan to work with the Antoniazzi...
, descendant of the Cremonese school, he began studying the art of stringed-instrument making in the early years of his life. In 1922, after marrying Daria Guidi in Sienna
Sienna
Sienna is a form of limonite clay most famous in the production of oil paint pigments. Its yellow-brown colour comes from ferric oxides contained within...
, he moved to Florence. They first lived in via della Spada; later they moved to via San Zanobi, and in 1929 to via Puccinotti. Here Bisiach lived for the rest of his life.
As a young man, Carlo studied cello with Giovanni Buti and for a time seriously considered a career as a performer.
At the outbreak of WWI, lived most of that time abroad (away from Italy).
It is during this time that he studied the art of bowmaking in the Paris workshop of Eugene Sartory, working side by side with Andre Vigneron
André Vigneron
André Vigneron b.1881 in Paris - d.1924 in Paris was a French Archetier / Bowmaker.André Vigneron learnt his craft with his father, Joseph Arthur Vigneron. He also worked in the workshop of Eugene Sartory. André succeeded his father in 1905.He used a personal model for the heads of his bows...
(1881–1924) who was to become one of the outstanding bowmakers of his time.
His instruments, though few in number, are constructed of top quality material and have perfect sound. After completing the construction of the instrument, he would leave it for up to two years before going on to the varnishing. This precision made him famous worldwide. He is particularly well-known for the quality of his varnish and the technique used to apply it onto the instruments.
"Unlike many modern makers, Carlo did not attempt to develop his own model. He was convinced that the classical masters of the 17th & 18th centuries had brought the violin to the peak of its formal and sonorous beauty and he was content to emulate them in so far as it was possible for him to do so. Among the makers whose works he copied were of course Stradivari, often the early Strad Amatise types, Guarneri Del Gesu, G.B. Guadagnini, Januarius Gagliano, Mantegazza, Tommaso Balestrieri, Andrea Guarneri, Camilli as well as Gabrielli. But the model he admired most, both for its designing and tonal characteristics was that of Pietro Guarneri."
According to top experts, he is considered the best of the Bisiach family.
Among his awards is a Gold Medal at XIII Exhibition, Padua.
Represented with four violins at the prestigious exhibition-competition of modern violin making held in Cremona
Cremona
Cremona is a city and comune in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po River in the middle of the Pianura Padana . It is the capital of the province of Cremona and the seat of the local City and Province governments...
in 1937 on the occasion of Stradivari's bicentary, in 1949 he won the diploma of honour at the exhibitions mounted at The Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
and in Cremona.
Subsequently he received numerous other prizes and recognitions.
His instruments are distinguished by the care taken in the selection of wood and their elegance of form.
"A number of his instruments were made of maple cut from near the root of the tree. Wood from this area is often unpredictable in its marking and occasionally has a unique figure of extraordinary beauty."
'Among the artists who have owned C. Bisiach instruments are Franz von Vecsey (copy of his Strad), Maestro Saito cellist of the Quartet of Tokyo, Louis Kaufman (G.B. Guadagnini model) to name a few"
Recent auction results: Christie's NY #97 Apr-2008 Bisiach, Carlo Violin Florence, 1923 $51,400
Quotes
"Though an accomplished restorer and expert, violin making was his great love, and for this skill his fame is secure. " - The Bisiach Family 1983, Philip J. Kass"Resplended workmanship , often handsome slab backs and very fine grain for breasts , orange-red varnish. Gold medalist at various exhibitions" - Universal Dictionary by William Henley
According to top experts, he is considered to be the best of the Bisiach family.
Instruments
After working with his father Leandro in Milan, Carlo established himself at Florence in 1926.The most talented of Leandro’s sons, Carlo went on to develop his own style quite separate from the Antoniazzi-derived work of his father and brothers.
View a fine example of Carlo Bisiach violin Firenze circa 1939:
Carlo Bisiach violin top Firenze 1939
External sources
- Bisiach Family Heritage. by Philip J. Kass