Maker Background
Giuseppe Antonio Ceruti is a pivotal figure in the history of violin making in Lombardy. Born in Cremona in 1785, he learned the craft from his father, Giovanni Battista Ceruti. After inheriting his
father's workshop, he started signing his own instruments, but the major part of his production came after he moved to Mantua in 1853. Despite being limited, his instruments are highly prized for their expressive sound.
Giuseppe Antonio Ceruti is considered to be the linkage between the 1700s classic violin making and the modern school in Lombardy. Born in Cremona in 1785, he learned the trade with his father Giovanni Battista Ceruti, to whom he worked until the master’s death in 1817. It was only after inheriting his father workshop and business that Giuseppe started signing his own instruments. But the major part of his production would still come in a later period, after moving to Mantua in 1853. His output was overall limited throughout his entire career, but there are no precise answers for why there are such a small number of his instrument from the time in Cremona between his father absence and his moving to Mantua. Probably, his multi-occupation as a double-bass player and woodworker in general, the decline of the Cremonese renown on the field, and the presumed number of instruments left by his father yet to be traded, all formed the due context for him to delay his focus on new making.
