Lupot, François I
Lupot Nicolas, *4 December 1758 Stuttgart, †14 August 1824 Paris, French violin maker, son and student of François I. To distinguish himself from his father, he added fils or filius to his violin-making notes. He worked initially in Orleans, and in 1794, he moved to Paris, where he studied with F.-L. Pique. Approx. in 1796, he opened his own workshop there. In 1815, he was appointed luthier of the Chapelle Royale, in 1816 – supplier of instruments for the Ecole Royale de Musique; his violins were also famous in Germany thanks to L. Spohr, who gave concerts on it. Already recognised as a great master during his lifetime and referred to as the “French Stradivari,” he is considered the most outstanding violin maker – apart from the Italians – after J. Stainer. He had an in-depth knowledge of Italian violins, especially those of A. Stradivari, did not limit himself to copying his late models (from 1725–27), but continued the stylistic explorations initiated by him, developing his own model. Some instruments also show influences from the workshop of G.B. Guarneri del Gesù and N. Amati. He mainly built violins, with great sound qualities, with masterfully crafted scrolls and F-holes, and a whalebone string; several of his violas and a dozen or cellos have also been preserved. He used very good varnish, considered the best outside Italy, with a red or red-brown shade. Antoine Sibire based his book on the construction of violins (La Chélonomie ou le parfait luthier, Paris 1806) on his knowledge. Lupot’s most important students and collaborators were Sébastien-Philippe Bernardel, Pierre Silvestre, Guillaume Grand, and Charles-François Gand, who married Lupot’s adopted daughter and inherited his studio; after his death, it was taken over by his two sons. Lupot’s influence on French violin-making is comparable to that of Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume, who also copied his models at the beginning of his career.
Literature: W. H., A. F. and A.E. Hill Antonio Stradivari. His Life and Work (1644–1737), London 1902, reprint 1963, Polish translation by H. Dunicz-Niwińska and M. Dziedzicowa, Kraków 1975; S. Milliot Les Luthiers Parisiens aux XIX et XX siècle, vol. 4: Nicolas Lupot et sa famille, Brussels 2010.