Matteo Goffriller

Matteo Goffriller was born in 1659 in Bressanone. In 1670 he moved to Venice to work for luthier Martin Kaiser. Gofriller was trained in the style of Jacob Steiner but as he developed his work took on personal characteristics that would become hallmarks of the Venetian school. Gofriller’s innate talent for violin making and his deep knowledge of the history of his craft soon made him the preeminent luthier in Venice. In 1690 he took over his master’s workshop. For the next 40 or 50 years he continued to produce bold, high quality instruments for musicians in Venice.

Gofriller’s work is so excellent and so faithful to the master luthiers that came before him that his instruments have often been mistaken for those of Stradivari, Guarneri, or Bergonzi. His students include Domenico Montagnana, Santo Serafin, Carlo Tononi, and Francesco Gobetti.