Amédée Dieudonné, Mirecourt, circa 1935
This violin has now sold.
About Amédée Dieudonné
Dieudonné was born in 1890 and served his apprenticeship in Mirecourt with Gustave Bazin, son of Charles Bazin. His apprenticeship began at the age of 14: by 19 Dieudonné had moved to Brussels to work for the Darché firm. He finally established his own workshop in Mirecourt in 1920, making violins under his own label as well as for many other firms.
In the 1920´s, Dieudonné made fine violins for the Parisian maker Charles Enel. The instruments were exceptionally high-quality examples of Dieudonné´s work: this violin is one such instrument.
Dieudonné was also a musician himself, conducting and playing the violin in a Mirecourt orchestra for several years. He died in 1960, having played a significant part in the rebirth of top-class French violin making.
About the violin
The violin was made in Mirecourt around 1935. As mentioned above, it is one of the particularly fine examples made to be sold by Charles Enel in his Parisian shop.
The violin has a two piece back of book-matched maple, the flame descending slightly from the centre joint. The front is two pieces of extremely high-quality spruce with fine grain in the middle which widens towards the flanks. The varnish is an extremely attractive golden-red colour, laid over a lighter ground.
The violin is modelled after the instruments of Stradivari and has a length of back of 356 mm.
How does it sound?
Sometimes a violin´s tone reminds me of a specific person or player: to me, this violin just screams Grappelli! It´s sophisticated but relaxed with a supreme ease to the tone production. The violin projects really well but also has a satisfying crunch to the lower end that isn´t always present in instruments with good projection in the upper register.
Condition
The violin is in excellent condition. It has only one small wing crack and some attractive wear to the varnish.