Sebastien Vuillaume

Sébastien Vuillaume (1835–1875) was a French violin and bow maker, born in Mirecourt and active principally in Paris. He was the son and pupil of Claude-François Vuillaume and the nephew of Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume, in whose celebrated Paris workshop he also worked. Through this connection, Sébastien was trained within one of the most sophisticated violin-making and dealing environments of 19th-century ...Read More France.

He established his own workshop in Paris around 1867. His instruments are generally based on classical Cremonese models and, at their best, show very accomplished workmanship and a rich red-brown varnish. Although his production was neither as extensive nor as consistently refined as that of his uncle, the finest examples can approach the quality associated with the Vuillaume workshop. He received a bronze medal in 1867 and a silver medal the following year.

Sébastien was also an able bow maker. His bows follow the general pattern developed in Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume’s workshop and are often well balanced, practical playing bows of high professional quality. He inherited or used the bow-making machinery devised by his uncle, reflecting the Vuillaume family's continuing interest in mechanisation and technical innovation.

Nestor Audinot worked with Sébastien and succeeded to his business after his death in Paris in 1875. Sébastien is generally regarded as the last professional violin maker of the main Vuillaume family line, and his work represents the final direct continuation of the tradition established by Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume in Paris. Read Less

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