Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 20.djvu/198

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VIOLIN. 154 VIOLONCELLO. en to the wall bj' the wholesale factories of Mire- court. ( 7 ) The Gebmak School. Verj' few of the German violins rose above mediocrity. One of the earliest makers is also the greatest. This is Jacob Staiiier (16-21-83). As far as his model is concerned it is entirely original, but he did adopt the famous Italian varnish. For a long time his violins were in exclusive demand in Germany; and not only German but also English connois- seurs ranked Stainer above the Italian masters. Among the many imitators of Stainer, Kloz and W'idhalm deserve especial mention. Other Ger- man makers, notably Eberle, Bachmann, Jauch, Hunger, and Stainer's contemporary, Albani, worked after Italian models. But their work was not appreciated until later. (8) The Engli.sh School. Before the re- moval of duties on foreign violins violin-making flourished also in England. Jacob Rayman, a Ty- rolean by birth, settled in London about the mid- dle of the seventeenth century, and thus became the founder of the English school. His model is that of Stainer. Barak Norman (1688-1740) in his later years began to copy Maggini, thus helping to bring the Italian models into favor. Benjamin Banks (1727-95) used the model of Amati, which soon was in greater demand than that of Stainer. William Forster (e.1800) did not at- tain a great reputation until he had abandoned the Stainer pattern and adopted that of Amati. Bernard Fendt (1775-182.3) was perhaps the most famous English imitator of Italian models, particularly of Stradivari. For a century after the death of Stainer his instruments as well as those of his imitators were in great demand. But about the year 1800 the superiority of the Italian masters began gradualh' to be appreciated. The Amati instru- ments were the first to bring high prices. In 1804 an Amati was sold for $150. Stradivari's instruments were the next to be recognized; then those of Guarneri, Maggini, and Bergonzi. As soon as this demand for Italian violins became general the prices rose rapidly. Paris and Lon- don became the principal markets for old Italian violins. Private individuals began to collect them. The man who devoted his whole life to discover old instruments, and thus saved scores of valuable violins, was Luigi Tarisio, who died in 1854. After Tarisio's death Vuillaume bought his whole collection. Among these was a Strad- ivari, now in the possession of a ilr. (,'rawford of Edinburgh, which is valued at $15,000. The value of an instrument to-da}' depends upon the state of preservation, as well as the period of its maker. Thus it is that sometimes older instru- ments are of less value than violins of more recent date. See Quartet: Qui.ntet: Music; MisicAL iNSTHUjrE.VTS ; and for further infor- mation consult: Vidal, //r.s inslntmeiits a archet (Paris, 1876-78) ; Piiihlmann, Geschichte der Bofieninfitrumeyite (Brunswick, 1882); Hart, The Violin, Famous Makers and Their Imitators (Boston, 1885). VIOLLE, xt-'(,V. JuLE.s (1841—). A French physicist. He was born at Langres, France, and was educated at the Ecole Normale Supericure. In 1870 he took the degree of doctor of science at the I'niversity of Paris, and his thesis, which was on the ".Mechanical Equivalent of Heat." was published both in the Com pies Hendus and the Aniiales de Chimie. In 1883 he was appointed professor in the faculty of the University of Lyons, and in 1890 became the head of the de- partment of physics in the Ecole Normale. The following jear he was made professor of applied physics in the Conservatoire des Arts et Metiers. Violle became best known for his researches in radiation, heat, and photometry, having proposed the platinum standard of liglit emitted by a square centimeter of melting platinum at the instant previous to its solidification. This was adopted by the International Electrical Congress of 1883, but never came into extensive use as a standard of light, on account of the experimental difficulties involved in preparing the platinum. His publications include a Cours de physique (2d ed. 1883), and contributions to the Ency- clopedic chimique. VIOLLET-LE-BUC, vyo'la' le-diik', EuofeNE EiiMAXUEL (1814-79). The most prominent ar- chitect of the Gothic revival in France, equally well known as an author on architectural subjects. He was born in Paris, and was educated at the Coll&ge Bourbon, After studying architecture with Aehille LeclSre, he traveled through France studying mediaeval monuments, and became pro- ficient in designs of the Gothic style. He was especially skilled in the restoration of works of medifeval architecture, and did more than any other man to rehabilitate the Middle Ages, After some weeks at Vfeelay and Narbonne, he undertook, in association with Lassus, what were perhaps his best works, the restoration of the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris and the important ad- ditions and changes in Notre-Dame, Paris, Almost as important was his restoration of civil and militar3' monuments, such as the royal chateau of Pierrefonds and the entire site of Car- cassone, the most marvelous relic of Gothic forti- fications. In 1863 he was appointed professor of aesthetics at Ecole des Beaux-Arts, but as he could obtain no hearing from the students, who were imbued with the classical traditions of the scliool, he resigned, publishing his lectures, Entrctiens sur I'arrhitccture, the following year. At the time of his death he was engaged in re- storing the Cathedral of Lausanne, He wrote a nmnber of important books, ad- mirable in their scholarly text and unrivaled illustrations. Among them are Dietionnaire raisonnc de I'architccturc francaise (10 vols,, 1854-08) and Dietionnaire raisonn(} du mobilier frnn^ais (G vols.. 1858-75). In his Uistoire d'une forteressc (1874) and Histoire d'un hotel de rillr et d'une enlhMrale (1878) he draws an imaginary history of these typical medieval buildings. Consult: Sauvageot. Viollet-Ie-Duc et son ncuvre (Paris, 1880) ; and Saint-Paul, Viollcl-le-Due. scs travaux d'art, etc. (ib., 1881). VI'OLONCEL'LO, Jlal. pron. ve'A-h-in-chenA (It., (liniiiiutivc of violone, augmentative of viola, viol). A large instrument of the violin class, held by the iicrformer between his knees. It has four gut strings, the lowest of them cov- ered with silvered copper wire, and is tuned in fifths: r, G, d. a. Its compass extends from C to a', and even higher. Its signature is usually the bass clef, the tenor or treble clef being used for (he higher notes. In its present form the instru- ment dates from the latter half of the sixteenth