The Gentile Collection

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Paul Gentile (pronounced jen-TEEL), a Canadian artist of Italian descent, is a true renaissance artisan. He hand-crafts historically accurate exact miniature replicas of classical instruments to 1/7th their original size.

As a child, Gentile made extraordinary copies of Leonardo DaVinci's sketches and works of art, including the Mona Lisa. He refers to DaVinci and Michelangelo as his childhood heroes.

From a working class family, unable to afford art instruction, Gentile is entirely self-taught. "Renaissance art showed me life," he says.

Upon completion of his education he used his superior model-making skills to secure a job creating models for an architectural firm. Having taught himself to play the saxophone, he also performed with a local band.

He was inspired to combine his musical and model-making skills by creating a functional miniature saxophone in 14 karat gold. A year later, he finished the impeccable miniature Selmer Mark VI alto saxophone which won a place in the Guinness Book of Records as the world's smallest actionable saxophone.

Seeking instruments with rich history, he studied the life and work of the peerless 16th century craftsman Antonio Stradivari. He chose to recreate the master's rare 1679 Hellier violin, named after its original owner. It is one of the ten decorative instruments that Stradivari himself created.

"I am moved to explore every aspect of the artist's vision before I truly can feel I have made myself one with him," Gentile says. Working in 1/7th of the original size, he worked more than eight months to create a miniature Hellier violin that is a triumph of proportion and an incredibly captures the original's aesthetics, baroque design and materials.

Gentile then worked more than six years to create the 1785 Panormo Double Bass, the rare 1688 Antonio Stradivari Guitar and 1701 Antonio Stradivari Cello as well as the intricate 1931 Eugene Sartori Double Bass Bow.

As an example of the intricacy of Gentile's work, it took him 2 1/2 months to cut the fine parallel lines and chisel out the material between them in the Hellier violin's Baroque inlay -- which is about the thickness of a human hair. With mathematical precision, he also created 476 diamond and dot-shaped ivory pieces, about the size of grains of salt, and inlaid them in the ornamental border known as purfling. This compelling design begins and ends with a single dot. Testimonials

As his legacy, Gentile says, "I can walk away knowing I have been responsible for generating greater understanding and respect for the masters who enriched our lives and made musical history by the eloquence of their artistry.

My work gives me the inestimable privilege of getting to know some of the geniuses of our time. If you put your heart and soul into the medium, you appreciate the emotion that went into every piece they made. It's not about wood carving or making music," he says simply. "You're getting into a man's life."

Like the masters whose work he reveres, Paul Gentile's unique art will delight and amaze for generations to come. Interested in owning the collection? Click here.

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