Instrument
violin
François Caussin
Rouvres la Chétive via Neufchateau,
± 1830
played by
Silke Kolfschoten
Silke Kolfschoten
bouwer
François Caussin
*± 1794 , Rouvres-la-Chétive †± 1866 , Neufchâteau
In his day, François Caussin’s violins quickly found their way to buyers seeking an instrument with a well-worn appearance and a beautiful tone. They were, after all, built with the utmost skill in the tradition of the old Italian masters and finished in such a way that they seemed to have already lived a full life. François Caussin is regarded as a true master in the craft of building such instruments.
François Caussin was born 25 km from Mirecourt, the legendary violin-making town in the Vosges where most of the finest French luthiers either hailed from or received their training. At the age of twelve, François became an apprentice and boarder with one of the Gaillard family’s violin makers working in Mirecourt. After completing his training, François continued to work for him as a violin maker until he was able to open his own workshop in 1815—also in Mirecourt. He married there and had two sons. Because Mirecourt was home to dozens of violin makers at the time, the competition was too fierce for him to stay there long. A few years later, he therefore moved to Neufchâteau, where he became the town’s first violin maker. There, he opened his own workshop, where he built his instruments entirely on his own during the early years. Very few instruments from this early period are known to exist.
François Caussin was born 25 km from Mirecourt, the legendary violin-making town in the Vosges where most of the finest French luthiers either hailed from or received their training. At the age of twelve, François became an apprentice and boarder with one of the Gaillard family’s violin makers working in Mirecourt. After completing his training, François continued to work for him as a violin maker until he was able to open his own workshop in 1815—also in Mirecourt. He married there and had two sons. Because Mirecourt was home to dozens of violin makers at the time, the competition was too fierce for him to stay there long. A few years later, he therefore moved to Neufchâteau, where he became the town’s first violin maker. There, he opened his own workshop, where he built his instruments entirely on his own during the early years. Very few instruments from this early period are known to exist.
Workshop(s)
Mirecourt, ±1815-1820
Neufchâteau, 1820-1866
His two sons, François-Hyppolite and Nicolas, also became violin makers. François-Hyppolite trained with Gaillard in Mirecourt, while Nicolas was trained, in part, by his father. After completing their training, they followed their father to the workshop in Neufchâteau. After working with his father for several years, Nicolas went to try his luck in Paris, where he opened his own workshop. Having met with no success in that venture, he returned to his father’s workshop in Neufchâteau in 1857. It was especially during the period between 1856 and 1862 that the three Caussins built a large number of very fine stringed instruments. They were particularly prolific around 1860. After François’s death in 1866, his sons continued to run the workshop; Nicolas did so for a short time—he opened his own workshop in Neufchâteau—but François-Hyppolite continued to work in his father’s workshop until his death. The workshop closed in 1898.
Work and Influence
François Caussin was greatly influenced by the models of the great Italian masters such as Ruggeri, Serafin, Testore, and Amati—so much so that he never developed a style truly his own. In particular, he copied Amati violins so skillfully that they could easily be mistaken for genuine Amatis. He rarely inscribed his own label on them, but usually that of his model—which, at the time, was such a mark of respect that it served as a tribute to that master. Later, he treated his instruments in such a way that they gave the impression of having been played for a long time. He used a beautiful, golden-brown varnish that gave his instruments a lovely deep luster. In his work, he also always left faintly visible marks from the tools he had used. The bright, “lovely” tone made his instruments highly sought after. Together with his sons, they built a large number of fine instruments in this manner.
Between 1850 and 1860, they rarely signed their instruments, which made it difficult even for experts to attribute an instrument to one of the three Caussins for a long time. For this reason, many certificates often bore the notation “School of Caussin” or “Workshop of Caussin.” It was only after François-Hyppolite took sole charge of the workshop that he continued to successfully craft instruments in the same manner as they had done collectively, though he did affix his own label to them.
Like many traditional violin makers, François Caussin enjoyed experimenting. For example, he built a violin with eight strings and six sound holes. This violin and another one he made ended up in the collection of the Russian tsar’s court.
The François Caussin violin owned by the Musical Instrument Fund dates from around 1830. At that time, François had just started working in Neufchâteau, a period from which very few of his instruments are known.
Sources
Carlson B., Schmitt J. F., Moroder I., Leonhard F., Italian & French Violin Makers - Vol. 1, 2001, Cologne.
Vannes, R., 1999, *Universal Dictionary of Instrument Makers*, Spa.
Henley W., 1959 Universal Dictionary of Violin and Bow Makers. Amati Publications. London.
- Auteur
- Jan Boekhout
- Date
- 24 April 2019
Given on loan