Born in Germany in about 1710, Carlo Landolfi began his independent activity only several decades thereafter, after settling in Milan, at a time when the second generation of the Testore family and, later on, Giovanni Battista Guadagnini were still active in the city.
However, his style remained very personal in many ways: the body model is small in size and rather slender; his F-holes follow a pattern influenced by his German background: the eyes appear to be folded inwards and the notches are of large dimensions. The head is the most personal element: the peg box has a bulge in its lower section and continues with a straight line towards the upper part, ending in a very shallow throat; the volute is usually rather compact. The good quality varnish and fine tone make him one of the most important Milanese makers of the second half of the eighteenth century, who initiated his son Pietro Antonio into his profession and also contributed to the training of Pietro Giovanni Mantegazza.
