Giuseppe Guarneri
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Bartolomeo Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesù (August 21, 1698 - October 17, 1744), more commonly known in English as Joseph Guarneri, is the only violin maker to rival Antonio Stradivari in the respect accorded to his instruments, and has been called the finest violin maker of the Amati line.
Giuseppe is known as del Gesù because his labels always incorporated the characters I.H.S. (iota-eta-sigma) and a Roman cross. His instruments deviated significantly from family tradition, becoming uniquely his own style, and are considered second in quality only to those of Stradivari and argued by some to be superior.
The most illustrious member of the Guarneri family of violin makers, he was the son of Giuseppe Giovanni Battista Guarneri, and therefore the grandson of Andrea Guarneri, both noted violin makers. Andrea in turn had learned his trade as an apprentice of Nicolo Amati, of whom Stradavari was also an apprentice. Well known violinists such as Ysaye, Heifetz, Stern, and Perlman have used Del Gesus at one point in their career or even exclusively. The famed violin virtuoso Niccolò Paganini’s favorite instrument Cannone Guarnerius was a Guarneri del Gesù violin of 1743, and the "Lord Wilton" Guarneri del Gesù violin made in 1742 was owned by Yehudi Menuhin.
His instruments are sometimes referred to simply as Josephs or "Del Gesus", especially in older works.
