SALE René Morizot: French Violin No. 122

This modern French violin is a lovely instrument which Mirecourt luthier René Morizot crafted with an extremely elegant appearance and excellent musical quality. It dates back to the time in which the son of the famous bow maker Louis Morizot worked in the complete autonomy of his own workshop – and at that time, he was at the zenith of a life which had not been easy by any means. After his first few years as the only violin maker in the family's bow making workshop  "Morizot, père et frères", he took steps towards working for himself in 1939, only to have his career interrupted by WWII and being held as a prisoner of war. Following that, he was able to focus his full attention on his craft, and by the late 1950s he had established himself successfully. He created this violin, opus 122, an interesting interpretation of the classically Italian Amati model, a short while before becoming the director of the École nationale de lutherie in his home town and taking on responsibility for training the next generation of violin makers. Morizot showed a very refined sensibility in choosing the finely grained spruce and delicately flamed maple with a marvellous and subtle yet striking grain with which he shaped the highly arched body; its two-piece back is a masterpiece of precision artisanry. A charming and carefully applied orange-brown varnish rounds out the harmonious aesthetic of these outstanding tone woods, and the instrument has been kept in excellent and undamaged condition with only minor traces of use. Morizot's handwritten signature inside the body confirms the provenance of this violin, which was meticulously set up at our workshop and made ready to play. The unmistakably French character of its powerful, radiant sound has an enchanting clarity which features interesting dark timbre, creating a rare and sophisticated voice.