Benoît-Joseph Boussu (8 April 1703, in Fourmies, Nord,

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

– September 1773, in

Avesnes-sur-Helpe Avesnes-sur-Helpe (; ), Picard language, Picard: ''Avinne-su-Helpe'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department in northern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of ...

, France ) was an 18th-century French

violin maker A luthier ( ; ) is a craftsperson who builds or repairs string instruments. Etymology The word ' is originally French and comes from ''luth'', the French word for "lute". The term was originally used for makers of lutes, but it came to be u ...

. Boussu was active in the

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

area during the middle of the eighteenth century (c. 1749 – c. 1761). His making method incorporated both local archaic as well as foreign influences. The

Musical Instrument Museum (Brussels) The Musical Instruments Museum (MIM) (; ) is a music museum in central Brussels, Belgium. It is part of the Royal Museums of Art and History (RMAH) and is internationally renowned for its collection of over 8,000 instruments. Since 2000, the ...

has several Boussu violins and cellos in their collection; two of these instruments are in unaltered condition. Boussu's instruments feature a very remarkable scroll with an extra half turn and a yellow-brown varnish. The Musée national de la Renaissance collection includes a pochette by Boussu.Musée national de la Renaissance
Etiquette : ″Benoît Joseph Bossu......Me / luthier à Bruxelles 1755″ * (Source : dossier oeuvre) Boussu was baptized on 8 April 1703 in Fourmies, Nord, France, and for the first half of his working life he worked in

, France, as a notary, while his father and grandfather also were notaries. In his 40s, he and his family moved north, subsequently to

Liège Liège ( ; ; ; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east o ...

(c. 1749 – c. 1750),

Etterbeek Etterbeek (; ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the eastern part of the region, it is bordered by the municipalities of Auderghem, the Cit ...

(c. 1751 – 1753) and Brussels (1753 – c. 1761), and at the same time he commenced a twelve-year period of intensive violin making. He abandoned his newly acquired profession, and in the 1760s moved again, possibly to the Amsterdam area, where three of his children married and subsequently lived, or otherwise directly back to his native area of France (

), where he died in September 1773.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boussu, Joseph Bowed string instrument makers 1703 births 1773 deaths