Giuseppe Odoardi

Life and Career

Giuseppe’s father, Antonio Odoardi, was a farmer in the hamlet of Poggio di Bretta, located between the cities of Ascoli and Ancona. In addition to his work as a farmer, Antonio also built stringed instruments. There was no violin maker in the wider area from whom he could learn, so he was likely self-taught. The village had only a handful of residents, most of whom earned their living working the land. Antonio’s instruments would have been used at local festivals. Only a few of his violins are known to exist today, and they are very simple in design.

The Marche was far removed from cultural centers such as Venice, Florence, or Naples. Nevertheless, by 1780 the region already had more than 100 theaters. In the 250 towns of the Marche—of which Ascoli Piceno and Ancona were the largest—music was frequently performed in the streets and by small ensembles. Ascoli had had a municipal music theater with 500 seats since 1579. The entire region was home to a large number of monasteries, abbeys, and music societies that played an active role in the lives of the residents.

Around 1760, Giuseppe Odoardi moved from his native village of Poggio di Bretta to Piceno, which bordered Ascoli. At that time, the city already had a population of about 20,000, most of whom were wealthy. Their wealth often stemmed from the trade in a highly sought-after type of marble found in the area. The city itself made a rather opulent impression, as nearly all the facades were constructed of marble. The city was situated at a crossroads connecting the north with the south, where the road branched off toward the port city of Ancona.

Itinerant musicians enjoyed spending time in Ascoli Piceno. Several performances were held each week at the city’s music theater, and they drew such a large audience that an 800-seat venue eventually had to be built.

Apart from the basic principles of violin making that he had learned from his father, Giuseppe Odoardi was largely self-taught. There was no violin maker of note within a wide radius from whom he could have taken lessons. Ancona, located a few hours’ journey from Giuseppe Odoardi’s hometown, was a center for music publishers and was home to a few makers of stringed instruments, but the only violin maker whose name we still know was Antonio d’Ancona. He had already passed away by the time Giuseppe began his career.

Giuseppe Odoardi began building and repairing instruments in Piceno for local amateur musicians. Over the years, he must have studied many fine violins brought by traveling musicians, for his instruments were soon praised for their sound. So much so, in fact, that professional musicians on their way to the cultural centers in the North had their instruments adjusted by him and, in exchange, took his violins on consignment—a practice that, according to Blot, was common throughout Italy.

Florian Leonard emphasizes that, at that time, only a small number of violin makers were able to make a living from their craft; most worked as carpenters or were musicians. Giuseppe Odoardi was likely an exception to this rule. Based on the fact that his body of work comprises some 200 violins, which he built over a period of approximately 24 years, Florian Leonard suspects that Odoardi was indeed able to make a living from violin making.

Shortly after Odoardi’s death, his work was already receiving widespread acclaim. Prof. Francesco Galeazzi, violinist, composer, and music theorist, wrote in *Elemento teorico pratico di Musica*—a book published in Rome in 1790 that was used at many conservatories—that among Odoardi’s violins, “there are many that are on par with those from Cremona.” And the collector and expert on Italian violin making, Alessandro Cozio Salabue, reiterated this a hundred years later in his posthumous notes, in which he wrote appreciatively about Giuseppe Odoardi. He regarded Mariani, Pallotta, Postacchini, and especially Odoardi as the makers from the Marche region who built exquisite violins.

As is so often the case, instruments made by relatively unknown but skilled luthiers were later relabeled and sold for a high price. A violin unmistakably made by Odoardi was mistaken for a 1780 Gagliano for many years. It bore the label: Janarius Gagliano, son of Alexander, made in Naples, 1780.

As a tribute to his father, from whom he had learned the craft, Giuseppe stated on all his labels that he was the “filius Antoni,” the son of Antonio. It is noteworthy that he had the text on his label printed in Latin, as most violin makers did at the time, but wrote his first name in French. No explanation for this has yet been found.

No instruments by him are known to have been made after 1786; he presumably died shortly thereafter. A death certificate has never been found; it is likely that the fire that reduced several buildings in the city center to ashes destroyed the relevant archives.

Their labels read: Joseph, son of Anthony Odoardi, made near Asculum. Year 178.. Le lingo platano. Joseph, son of Anthony Odoardi, made in Picenum near Asculum. Year 178.

Work and Influence

Odoardi’s work varied greatly, both in terms of the models he created and the quality with which he built them. His early work, which spans until about 1770, is rather crude in construction and not very carefully finished. He gradually improved his technique, but he never became particularly refined. Experts often describe his later work as “distinctive.”

He typically used a Stradivari model with a low arch, which he constructed with great technical skill. This was also true of the violins he built based on a model by Domenico Montagnana. His instruments modeled after Mariani and Sacchini from his early period were of lower quality.

A distinctive feature of his violins is the edge inlay. This often draws attention because the center strip is unusually wide and made of a light-colored wood, while the two black strips on either side are often extremely thin.

Odoardi had at least three “lines” that differed in quality. Of particular note is the series of violins made from sycamore—a type of wood that was virtually never used in violin making. This is the only series for which he specified the type of wood on the label.

He used a thin varnish in a brown or reddish-brown color. The coils of his scroll are deeply carved and symmetrical, and the f-holes are short and wide.

Giuseppe Odoardi had no students. As far as is known, his business closed after his death.

Sources

Lozzi, C. 1887, *Il Bibliofilo*, Journal of Ancient Art and Ornamentation, Bologna.

Galeazzi, Fr., 1790, Theoretical and Practical Elements of Music, with an essay on the art of playing the violin, analyzed and reduced to demonstrable principles—a work of great utility to anyone who wishes to apply themselves profitably to music, and especially to beginners, amateurs, and violin teachers, Rome.

Rattray D., 2011, Masterpieces of Italian Violin making. Cremona.

Frazier, B, 2007, Cozio, Count Ignazio Alessandro di Salabue, Memoirs of a Violin Collector, Baltimore.

Kass, P. J., ‘Modern Historical Research: The Violin as Art’, Journal of the Violin Society of America.

Thöne J., 2003, Italian & French violinmakers, Grottamare.

Carlson B., Schmitt J. F., Moroder I., Leonhard F., 2001,Italian & French Violin Makers, Keulen.

Blot, E., 2001, Italian Violin Making - Piedmont, Eric Blot Edizioni, Italy.

Vannes, R., 1999, *Universal Dictionary of Instrument Makers*, Spa.

Sacchi, F, 1898, Count Cozio di Salabue: Celebrated Violin Collector, London.

Tarisio; Cozio Archive, accessed in 2022.

Geneanet, accessed in 2022.