Giovanni Battista Grancino I

Violin maker
(1637 – 1709)

Born in 1637, Giovanni Grancino was one of the finest makers of the Milanese school. It is likely that his father Andrea, and perhaps even his grandfather Francesco, were also violin makers. Giovanni had two brothers, Giuseppe and Francesco, and much of the early instruments of the Grancino family are assumed to be the work of Giovanni ...Read More and Francesco, although evidence of Francesco's role is scant. Many of Grancino's labels bear the segno della corona and contain the address of his workshop on the Contrada Larga in Milan, where he remained for most of his life.

The Amati influence is strong, especially early in his career, while he later adopted slightly flatter arching and a narrower body in the line of Stradivari, generally with a yellow-brown varnish throughout. Grancino's output includes many cellos as well as violins, all of which are of superior quality. Read Less