Lorenzo Storioni (1775-1785)

Lorenzo Storioni (1744–1816) is regarded as the last great master of the classical Cremonese school. With no documented teacher and no workshop inheritance, he revived the tradition of Stradivari and Guarneri in Cremona essentially on his own. Stylistically his work owes most to the example of Guarneri “del Gesù”: a large, freely worked model, deep edge fluting, individually and often obliquely set f-holes, and a boldly turned scroll. He used local woods for his instruments, frequently a wildly figured maple; his varnish is dry, of a deep yellow with a reddish cast. From about 1790 to 1795 he shared his workshop with Nicola Bergonzi; his assistant Giovanni Rota and later Giovanni Battista Ceruti carried the Cremonese line forward. Storioni's instruments are known for their brilliant, carrying and powerful tone and are prized by soloists — Ruggiero Ricci played a Storioni of 1780. At auction, one of his violins set a world record of 664,821 US dollars in 2017.