Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XVI.djvu/387

 VIOLLET-LE-DUC vibrating with the other), the quinte, the bary- . tone, the viola de bard one (said to have had 44 strings), the leero viol, and the linter-colo or sordino. All these instruments have long been obsolete, and are known only as existing in the cabinets of the curious or by mere name. The first really great violin player of whom we hear, and without a doubt the first that ap- peared, was Arcangelo Corelli, in the latter half of the 17th century. He was also the first composer of merit for his instrument whose works have come down to us. Contemporary with him was Schnittelbach of Lilbeck, who left a great reputation. From their time there has been a succession of great artists, of whom the most famous are Thomas Baltazar, Nicolas Matteis; Tartini (born 1692), already men- tioned, whose lengthening of the bow intro- duced an entirely new style; Kotta, Diana (a Cremonese), Viotti, Geminiani, Dubourg, Giar- dini; Paganini (born 1784, died 1840), an art- ist of original genius and prodigious powers of execution, but of questionable taste, who is the father of the modern virtuoso style; De Beriot, Ernst, F. David; Louis Spohr (born 1784, died 1859), whose style was pure and classical, and who was also a composer of emi- nence ; Molique, Ole Bull, Sivori, Vieuxtemps, Sainton, Wieniawski, and Joachim. Of these the last six are living. The first great vio- loncello player that we hear of was Torque- ray, born in 1700. He has been succeeded by Franceschelli, Buononcini, Bertrand, the two- Jansons, Luigi B'occherini (born 1740, died 1806), who was also a composer of enduring reputation, Romberg, Dotzauer, Servais, Max Bohrer, Linley, Knoop, Piatti, De Swert, and Frederick Bergner; the last named has long resided in the United States. The contra- basso, or double bass, is used almost entirely to give weight and volume to the bass part in orchestral compositions ; but two great solo performers upon it are known to fame, Dra- gonetti and Bottesini, who played violoncello and even violin music upon their unwieldy in- struments, and the latter of whom gained his first distinction in America. (See BOTTESINI, and DHAGONETTI.) VIOLLET-LE-DIJC, Eugene Emmanuel, a French architect, born in Paris, Jan. 27, 1814. He early studied Gothic architecture, and in 1836 -'9 studied in Italy the remains of Greek and Eoman art. Since 1840 he has been employed in the restoration of churches, castles, town halls, fortifications, and other public structures in France, among them the cathedral of No- tre Dame in Paris, the fortifications of Carcas- sonne, and the Pierrefonds castle. In 1863 he became professor of the history of art and aes- thetics at the school of fine arts. He is also a designer and painter in water colors. His principal works are the illustrated Dictionnaire raisonne de V architecture francaise du XI' au XVI'siecle (10 vols.,1853-'68),with its compan- ion or continuation the Dictionnaire raisonne du moHlier francais de Vepoque carlovingienne 820 VOL. xvi. 24 VIPER 367 d la renaissance (1855-'75) ; Estai sur Var- chitecture militaire au moyen age (1854 ; Eng- lish translation by M. Macdermott, London, 1860) ; Entretiens sur V architecture (vol. i.', 1863 ; vol. ii., 1872 ; English translation of vol! i. by H. Van Brunt, Boston, 1875; of both by B. Bucknall, 2 vols., London, 1876) ; Hit- toire d'une maison (1873 ; English translation by M. Towle, Boston, 1874, and by B. Buck- nall, London, 1874) ; Histoire d'une forteresse (1874; English translation by B. Bucknall, London and Boston, 1875); and ffistoire de I' habitation humaine (1875; English transla- tion byB. Bucknall, London and Boston, 1876). VIOLONCELLO, an instrument of the violin family, with four strings tuned in fifths, A, D, G, C, the last two of which are wound with wire. It is held between the legs of the per- former, and has taken the place of the old viol da gamba. It is a bass instrument, the C string giving that note on the second line be- low the bass clef ; but its tone is the noblest and most touching of all the instruments of the violin family. (See VIOLIN.) VIOTTI, Giovanni Battista, an Italian violinist, born at Fontanetto, Piedmont, about 1755, died in Brighton, England, March 3, 1824. He studied under Pugnani, who enjoyed the high- est reputation in his day. Before he had at- tained his majority Viotti was appointed first violinist in the royal chapel in Turin. He afterward visited Berlin, Paris, and other cit- ies, and was regarded as one of the greatest virtuosos of his day. During the French revo- lution he held for a time a seat in the constit- uent assembly, but fled to London when the reign of terror began, and was for a short pe- riod leader of the band in the King's theatre. A report being circulated among the French emigres then in London that Viotti had been a secret agent of the revolutionists, he was obliged to quit the country. He went to Hamburg, but after a few years returned to London, and lost all his property in the wine trade. After the restoration of the Bourbons he assumed the direction of the royal academy of music at Paris, in which he met with no success. His remaining years were spent in England. He is now remembered chiefly by his Six duos concertans pour deux violons, pub- lished at Hamburg. VIPER (Lat. vivipara, bringing forth young alive), the common name of the viperida^ & family of old world venomous serpents, distin- guished from the rattlesnakes of the new by the absence of pits on the sides of the face and rattles on the tail. There are about 20 species, most abundant in warm climates, and espe- cially in Africa ; three species occur in Europe. The common European viper or adder (vipera [pelias] berus, Daud.) rarely attains a length of more than 2 ft. ; the general color is yellowish or olive brown, with a double row of black spots on the back, sometimes united into bands, and paler on the sides with black spots ; the single abdominal scutes are about 140, and the