Francesco Gobetti

Violin maker
(1675 – 1723)

Research suggests that Francesco Gobetti may have learned the craft of violin making at home. After arriving in Venice in 1699, Gobetti got work as a shoemaker and continued to work in that capacity, and there is no evidence that he was employed at any of the important violin shops in Venice. His earliest known instrument is from 1705 and he probably continued to work until 1720 despite a sharp drop-off ...Read More in 1717 due to illness.

While Gobetti's style reflects the prominence of Matteo Goffriller in the Venetian scene, many instruments also contain elements of Jacob Stainer and Antonio Stradivari, among others. Some may have been sold by Matteo Sellas beginning in 1717 alongside the works of his contemporaries Carlo Tononi and Pietro Guarneri. Read Less