Giuseppe Giovanni Battista Guarneri

Giuseppe, also known as "Joseph Guarnerius, filius Andreæ" (in Latin) was the younger son of Andrea Guarneri.

A promising young violin maker named Antonio Stradivari was emerging, who in 1680 moved his workshop to the Piazza San Domenico, just a few metres away from the Casa Guarneri.

[1] Because of this increasing local competition, by 1683, Pietro had moved to Mantua, leaving Giuseppe to work in their father's shop.

[1] In 1690, Giuseppe married young Barbara Franchi, a parishioner of Sant’ Agata, who then joined the Guarneri family in the house on Piazza San Domenico.

Del Gesù violins are renowned for their rich, powerful tone, and have been favoured by virtuosos from Paganini to Pinchas Zukerman.

[1] Continued working in the Amatisé style of his father, Andrea, but latterly was influenced by his close neighbour Antonio Stradivari.

Giuseppe's designs was influenced by Gasparo da Salo of Brescian School, and incorporated some of the stylistic refinements of his older brother (Peter of Mantua); the outline tended to be more narrow waisted, the f-holes were lower and more elegant, and he used a richer, more Brescian varnish.

[4] In 2021 it was reported that the foundation was refusing to pay, which some observers noted could damage the credibility of future restitution efforts.