Jan Boumeester
Violin maker
(c. 1629 – 1681)
Jan Boumeester established himself in Amsterdam in 1653 as a very significant early Dutch maker. He was the nephew by marriage of Gerrit Menslage, a luthier who had previously established himself in the city. Both worked in the Oude Kerk parish. His work became exceedingly rare, but his workshop was evidently one of the most important in Amsterdam, likely employing Jan Vos, Gijsbert and Jacobus Verbeeck, Dirck ten Bos, and Boumeester's son Harmanus. After his death in 1681, his widow initially continued the business, followed by his daughter Margareta, and finally by Jan Vos in 1704. Labels with Boumeester's name were reported up to 1688. His work featured highly refined Italianate lines, with a full arch that was well modeled and slightly elongated soundholes on an Amati form. The volute was slightly large yet satisfyingly concentric and beautifully carved. He used a rich golden orange varnish, creating an overall effect that led to earlier speculation about him being a pupil of Pietro Guarneri of Mantua. Unlike many later Amsterdam makers, he employed conventional purfling instead of whalebone, which was very elegantly inlaid.
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