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Karel van der Meer

*1862 , Den Haag      †1932 , Bloemendaal

It is thanks to Karel van der Meer that the somewhat stagnant Dutch violin-making world was able to revive itself at the end of the nineteenth century. He made very few instruments himself; his contribution lies more in the fact that he brought many young, talented makers to the Netherlands. He encouraged his colleagues to develop their skills further without imposing any particular model or method on them. Consequently, the bows and instruments from his workshop displayed a wide variety of styles and models. For him, that diversity was the natural result of the diversity of his collaborators. He himself was self-taught, but his collaborators were mostly trained craftsmen. Karel van der Meer did not begin his career as a violin maker, but as a violinist. He started out in small venues in Amsterdam before being hired by the Concertgebouw Orchestra a few years later. Somewhat disillusioned, he resigned from that position four years later.
Workshop(s)
Amsterdam, 1896-1920
Arnhem, 1906-1910
Bussum, 1920-1932

From this builder

Instrument

violin bow

Karel van der Meer Amsterdam
played by
Laura Vilela Garcia
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Life and Career

He learned the craft from violin makers who had been trained in Germany and went on to open his own workshop in Amsterdam and Arnhem. Among his employees were the violin makers Josef Fedral Sr., Eugène Eberle, and Johann Stüber. As a bow maker, Auguste Toussaint had already gained a wealth of experience working for major French makers before he began working for Karel van der Meer. Given the excellent quality of the bows he crafted, he was likely the most talented bow maker in the workshop. Paul Max Muller played an important role; as workshop manager, he granted his employees a great deal of freedom but also set high standards for the quality of their work. Paul Max came from St. Petersburg and brought with him knowledge of old master instruments.

Work and Influence

Karel van der Meer maintained a good relationship with the musicians of the Concertgebouw Orchestra, who would continue to provide him with work for many years to come. He expanded the business, which he ran together with van Roosmalen, to Arnhem and later moved into a large workshop next to the Concertgebouw. There, instruments were built in the style of the old masters of Cremona. Karel van der Meer closed his business on Van Baerlestraat in 1920 and moved to Bussum. He continued to work there for several years until his death in 1932. In 1930, he participated in an exhibition in Liège. Even after leaving his workshop, his employees continued to speak highly of him. It was only later that it became clear just how important Karel van der Meer had been to the revival of violin making in the Netherlands.

Auteur
Jan Boekhout
Date
27 October 2020

Given on loan