Dictionary of Makers

Carlo Tononi was undoubtedly a pupil of his father Giovanni in Bologna, where he worked until after Giovanni's death in 1713. In 1717 he moved to Venice - coincidentally the same year in which Pietro Guarneri arrived from Cremona, and it is likely that they worked side by side in Matteo Sellas' workshop.

 

Many of Carlo's instruments from around 1720 show the influence of Guarneri, but his work varies enormously, from highly-arched Stainer copies (see the 1726 violin on pp. 608-609) to beautifully executed and varnished instru- ments inspired by the best of Cremona. The latter is clearly the case for the fine 1725 violin featured here, which, but for the scroll, could almost be mistaken for a Stradivari.