Francois Xavier Tourte

François Xavier Tourte (1747—25 Apr 1835), also known as François Tourte 'le Jeune', was a highly-influential French archetier—often recognized as the true author of the modern Pernambuco wood bow. Son of a prosperous luthier Nicolas Pierre Tourte (c. 1700—1764), François initially longed for horology and spent eight years as a watchmaker's apprentice before finally embracing the family oeuvre. François Tourte studied at his father's workshop alongside his older brother, Nicolas Léonard Tourte 'l'Ainé' (1745—c. 1807). He began making bows in the mid-1770s, opening a workshop circa 1800. This era marked revolutionary changes in violin music, with demand for a much broader tonal palette, as well as the prevailing trend for virtuoso playing. Brothers Tourte spearheaded the bow's necessary technological advancements—making it significantly more prolonged and heavier, introducing sturdier construction with a "hatchet-shaped" head and substantial frog. Most importantly, François Tourte standardized bending with heat, rather than wood-carving, as a primary manufacturing method. He also gained notoriety for stringent quality standards, destroying any bow that wasn't flawless in every aspect of functionality, aesthetics, and impeccable craftsmanship. Tourte's design inspired and impacted dozens of subsequent prominent archetiers, including Dominique Peccatte, Nicolas Maire, Jacob Eury, François Lupot, Joseph Henry, Jean Pierre Marie Persois, etc. François produced bows for violins, violas, cellos and contrabasses. Tourte's bows, astoundingly costly even during his lifetime, command prices upward to $360,000 at current auctions.