Alessandro Mezzadri

Violin maker
(c. 1653 – 1729)

Alessandro Mezzadri (c. 1653–1729) was an important early violin maker of Ferrara and is generally regarded as the first significant figure in the city’s violin-making tradition. Recent archival research has established that he was born around 1653 and died in Ferrara in 1729 at the age of seventy-six. Contemporary and later sources also describe him as a musician; the Ferrarese historian Luigi ...Read More Napoleone Cittadella memorably characterised him as a mediocre violinist but an excellent maker of violins.

Mezzadri’s instruments are highly individual and broadly derived from the Amati tradition, though they also show affinities with the work of Giovanni Tononi and the broader Bolognese school. His models are generally of medium arching, with distinctive, sometimes rather freely executed workmanship. The scrolls tend to have rounded volutes and small eyes, while the soundholes are often set relatively close together. His varnish is one of the most attractive features of his work, typically richly textured and ranging from golden-orange to deep orange-brown or reddish brown.

Surviving instruments are comparatively rare, but their quality and the choice of materials suggest that Mezzadri enjoyed considerable success in his lifetime. His work occupies an important position between the established violin-making centres of Bologna and Cremona and the later independent tradition of Ferrara, which would be developed further by makers such as Luigi and Giuseppe Marconcini. Read Less

Price History

- The auction record for this maker is $134,550 in Oct 2007, for a violin.
- 22 auction price results.

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Mezzadri family tree

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