‘Vieuxtemps’ Guarneri ‘del Gesù’ 1741 poster

Currently the most expensive violin in the world, the 1741 ‘Vieuxtemps’ Guarneri ‘del Gesù’ was sold in 2012 for a sum in excess of $16 million. It has been given on lifetime loan to US violinist Anne Akiko Meyers. Among its illustrious former players was Henri Vieuxtemps; at his funeral it was carried behind the hearse on a velvet cushion, by fellow violinist Eugène Ysaÿe.

As well as full measurements, the back of this poster contains detailed CT scans, thickness maps and actual-size cross-sections of the archings. The violin still remains in a remarkable state of preservation, especially considering it has been in use for most of its life.

‘The violin has a colossal range. I found I could play the entire repertoire, from Vivaldi to Sibelius to modern works, just on this one violin. It feels as though there’s colour in my fingertips‘ – Anne Akiko Meyers in the June 2018 edition of The Strad