Balthazar Soulier and Josselin Riehl from Atelier Cels reveal some insights about the photographic documentation of two emblematic violins from a private collection. The 303-year-old “Benno Walter”, Antonio Stradivari violin from 1718, and the 277-year-old “Sainton”, Giuseppe Guarneri ‘del Gesù’ violin from 1744, the final year of Guarneri's short life. Discover the photography and documentation process of these unique violins using state-of-the-art broncolor lighting equipment.

Atelier Cels are recognized specialists in the field of conservation and expertise of fine old stringed instruments. For many years, Atelier Cels is working with broncolor lighting that ensures outstanding fidelity and reproducibility of light. This is one of the crucial requirements in the field of cultural heritage photography.

High-quality photography provides essential information about the shape, motif, texture and colours of the surfaces. Coupled with UV illumination, photography also enables to localize precisely the original varnish and possible contaminations.

Violins present a real challenge for colour photography. The nuances of the colour spectrum are extremely subtle, from yellow-orange to transparent reds. The complex arching surfaces covered with shiny, transparent layers create disturbing reflections and shadows. In addition, the motif of the wood changes depending on the direction of the light. Micro details and colour nuances have to be characterized with the highest possible precision in order to record the specific features of each instrument and to detect any changes over time.

"It is important to produce extremely sharp images over a large depth of field while avoiding distortions and spurious reflections. As we often shoot in a stacking mode, we need an identical and powerful light during each and all stacking acquisition. Accurate and reproducible colour temperature is crucial to detect and monitor possible changes over time."
Balthazar Soulier, Atelier Cels

The lighting setup
In order to reproduce the lighting conditions for each different instrument, the lighting setup is always the same.
The flash heads are positioned laterally to the instrument in order to avoid disturbing reflections due to the shiny surface of the varnish. The precise angle/position has to be adapted to the arching of each violin.
Except for the back view, 4 Softboxes are used for a homogenous illumination. Two above and two below the instrument. Due to their high colour saturation and easy handling, small Softboxes (35 x 60) are the best choice.
The configuration needs to be adapted when shooting the backsides of the violins because of the particular figures of the wood. Violins are generally made out of flamed maple wood which has the particularity to fluctuate depending on the light direction. In order to reveal homogenously these flames, one has to illuminate the back from one single direction. So we use two Softboxes from the top and in order to compensate the slight shadow caused by the arching, we add two reflectors with narrow grids as a spot-shaped fill-in on the lower part of the back. In order to have the necessary power and a constant light quality, we use broncolor Pulso G lamps powered by two Scoro S power packs with 3200 joules.

For the background, two 90 x 120 Softboxes are used for an even and bright illumination of the white back wall. In combination with black curtains (used to avoid back reflections), one can get a well-defined outline of the rounded edges of the violin. A perfect white background allows to not have to cut out the background for publication purposes.

"In our case, it’s very useful to control the power of all the flash units from the computer or iPad as we also control the setting of our camera from the computer in a tethered mode. It not only saves time but it is also much more secure as it avoids unnecessary movements around the instrument. This is also particularly valuable when we alternate between UV and visible light shots. So we can switch off all the modelling lights without having to move around. As we often shoot in a stacking mode we need an identical and powerful light during each and every stacking acquisition."
Balthazar Soulier, Atelier Cels

Being a pioneer when it comes to digitization techniques, Atelier Cels also uses the broncolor Scope D50 to record the violins using all lighting angle possible. With Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI) technology, it becomes possible to modify virtually the angle of incidence of the light. The changing figures of the wood are revealed in a way that has never been done before. One can virtually feel the flashing and tridimensional effect of the violin flames. This breaks new ground in the digitization of historical wooden objects.

About Antonio Stradivari (Cremona c. 1644 -1737)

Antonio Stradivari is almost universally regarded as the greatest violin maker in history, and the value of his instruments reflects that exalted status. Stradivari was born in Cremona around 1644, and his 70-year career was a vivid account of early mastery, fluid and ingenious innovation, and indelible craftsmanship and artistry. With the help of his sons Francesco and Omobono, Stradivari made nearly a thousand instruments, of which about 650 survived. They are distinguished equally for their exquisite craftsmanship, materials, and unsurpassed tone quality.
The pinnacle of Stradivari's career is known as the Golden Period and lasted roughly from 1700 to 1720. Numerous superlative instruments that stand as emblems of the Stradivari legacy were constructed during this period.
Beside the conception and workmanship, Stradivari’s varnish became legendary as nobody has succeeded after him to reproduce the same visual effect. It is characterized by an exceptionally luminous and profound golden or red colour on a particularly reflective golden ground, which enhances the wood structure.

About Bartolomeo Giuseppe Guarneri 'del Gesù' (Cremona 1698 – 1744)

Giuseppe Guarneri ‘del Gesù’ is beside Stradivari the most estimated violin maker of all times, although the marked difference between the appearance and sound of his instruments and those of Stradivari makes comparison almost impossible. Giuseppe trained with his father, Giuseppe Guarneri filius Andreæ, and assisted him from about 1714 until 1722. In that year he left his father’s house to get married, and seems to have forsaken violin making for a few years. The earliest known instruments that are entirely his own work date from the late 1720s, but it was not until 1731 that he began to insert the label with the monogram IHS (‘Iesus Hominem Salvator’: ‘Jesus Saviour of Man’), which gave rise to his nickname ‘del Gesù’. Many important soloists since Pagagnini have favoured Del Gesu’ violins over those of Stradivari. Due to his relative short life, Guarneri instruments are very rare. About 200 violins are known.