Scan 164
The violin: its famous makers and their imitators, 1884
11 lines. Read by computer on 28 September 2026. Printed page 108. See the scan on archive.org.
1Neapolitan School. Although in its productions we miss the lustrous varnish and handsome wood of Cremona, Naples has furnished us with many excellent instruments.
3The works of Alessandro Gagliano are mostly of large pattern and flat model. If we compare them with those of his master, the resemblance is not so great as might be expected, if it be remembered that they are copies, and not original works. The sound-holes are broader and more perpendicular than those of Stradivari. The scroll is diminutive, and the turn much contracted and of a somewhat mean appearance. The workmanship of this item is roughly executed, and points to the conclusion that Alessandro Gagliano was not gifted with the power of head-cutting. The character of Gagliano's Violins reminds us of those by Stradivari made between 1725 and 1730; and doubtless it was those instruments which this artist chiefly copied.
5The wood used for the backs was generally of a tough nature; the back and sides are often marked with a broad curl. The bellies are of wide and even grain, and very resonant. The varnish is quite distinct from that of Cremona; it is very transparent, and of various shades, chiefly yellow.
7GAGLIANO, Gennaro, Naples, 1720 to about 1750.
8Januarius Gagliano, filius Alexandri fecit Neap, 1732.
10GAGLIANO, Niccolò, Naples, son of Alessandro. His Violins and Violoncellos were made with care, and show that he possessed some amount of origi-
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