A Violin by Nicola Bergonzi

Nicola Bergonzi was born in 1754, the eldest son of Zosimo Bergonzi, who was himself the son of Carlo Bergonzi. Nicola's work reflects and acknowledges this ancestry, as he sought to reach the same levels of meticulous craftsmanship and stellar artistry as his grandfather, while still implementing his own ideas. He was a close contemporary of Lorenzo Storioni, who preceded him in the craft by only a few years. At times, they worked as neighbors on the Contrada Coltellai in Cremona between 1787 and 1794, and during this period, collaborative examples by these two makers can be seen.

Count Cozio, already a prolific collector by this time, mentions in his writings that the Bergonzi family possessed molds and tools used by Stradivari. This would make sense, as Nicola’s grandfather assumed ownership of Casa Stradivari and a good portion of the workshop's contents shortly after Stradivari's death. The outlines that would inspire Nicola were derived from some of the Stradivari molds, but also those of Guarneri del Gesu and his familial predecessors. He developed a unique style that was less focused on the details but effective in the outline. The Bergonzi family also inherited from this purchase a collection of tonewood and at least a handful of unfinished instruments in various stages of completion. As a result, Nicola had access to materials his contemporaries in Cremona did not. We often see attractive maple used for the back, sides, and heads in his instruments, and his varnish is similar to that of the late work of his uncle, Michele Angelo Bergonzi.

Nicola was not a prolific maker, and his output is small relative to his contemporaries, such as Storioni. In 1804, he ceased making violins and took up trading in fabrics, thus ending three generations of the Bergonzi violin-making tradition.