Born in the small village of Palidano, south of Mantua, in 1914, Erminio Malagutti has been repeatedly referred to as a pupil of Stefano Scarampella, which is obviously impossible even for simple biographical reasons (he was in fact just ten years old when the Mantuan master passed away). In 1938 Malagutti moved to Milan, where he studied the violin and was involved in making and repairing stringed instruments. However, his most abundant production is dated to the 1960s and 70s, a period in which the request for his instruments, which had also been awarded in some competitions, increased from abroad as well.
In his style, an initial imprint from the Mantuan school is only partially recognizable, for instance in the wide and long corners and in the shape of the purfling. On the other hand, the influence of the Milanese makers of the previous generation was quite strong in the way the edges are softened and shaded, in the narrow fluting of the plates and the pattern of his F-holes.
