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Johannes Bernardus Cuypers

*1781 , Den Haag †1840 , Den Haag

The Netherlands experienced two periods of prosperity in violin making. The first took place in Amsterdam from 1650 to 1728; the second occurred largely in The Hague, from 1760 to 1840. This peak was primarily due to the Cuypers family, led by the father, Johannes Theodorus Cuypers. This workshop was undoubtedly the most productive in the history of Dutch violin making. Father Johannes Theodorus could not possibly have achieved this on his own, so his story cannot be told without mentioning his two sons, Franciscus and Bernardus. Cuypers instruments can now be found all over the world, often in the hands of professional musicians.

Workshop(s)

Den Haag, ±1799 - 1840

From this builder

Instrument

cello

Johannes Bernardus Cuypers The Hague, 1810

played by
Emma Kroon

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Following in His Father's Footsteps

Bernardus was born in 1781 in The Hague, the youngest child of Johannes Theodorus Cuypers and Anna Maria Borneman. He was only 2 years old when his older brother Franciscus, a violin maker, moved to Amsterdam at the age of 17. Therefore, the brothers could not have worked together (on a daily basis) in their father’s workshop, as was often claimed. Nothing is known about his childhood, but he certainly learned the craft of violin making from his father. Two months after his father’s death, Bernardus married Johanna Theodora van Aardenburg, with whom he had three children. Johanna died at a young age, after which Bernardus remarried in 1815 to Cecilia Johanna Euphrosine Malherbe, with whom he had another seven children.

Musical Family

It must have been a musical family. Several of his children went on to become professional musicians, and his son Johannes Franciscus II initially trained as a violin maker, although no instruments made by him are known to exist. Later, he retrained as a piano maker; his business continued for two more generations until 1917. Bernardus died in 1840; his death marked the end of the second golden age of Dutch violin making.

Small personal details

Bernardus clearly learned the trade from his father, as his work is identical, except for a few details in the ornamentation. In particular, the curls—though they are more robust—are better finished. Another very characteristic detail of Bernardus’s work is the slanted, straight surface he applied to his corners. Like his father and brother, he uses handwritten labels. However, he sometimes writes his signature, the date, and the location directly on the wood, on the inside of the back panel.