A day in the life of...
Italy
Antonio Stradivari
by Rossana
Antonio Stradivari (1644 – 18 December
1737 ) was an
Italian luthier born in
Cremona. He was a crafter of
string
instruments such as violins, cellos, guitars,
violas, and harps. Stradivari is generally
considered the most significant and greatest
artisan in this field.
Stradivari was a student of Amati, he
produced his first decent instruments in
1660, at the age of 16. His first labels were
printed from 1660 to 1665, which indicates
that his work had reached a quality
sufficiently high enough for him to offer it
directly to his patrons. However, he probably
stayed in Amati’s workshop until about 1684,
so as to use his master’s reputation as a
launching point for his career.
Stradivari likely developed his own style
slowly. His
violins often used slightly
smaller dimensions.A notable exception to
this is the 1697 Hellier violin, which had
much larger proportions.Stradivari’s early
violins are in strong contrast to Amati’s
instruments of the same period; Stradivari’s
have a stronger, more masculine build, and
less rounded curves, with the purfling set
farther in.
By 1680, Stradivari had acquired at least a
small, yet growing, reputation. In 1682, a
Venetian banker ordered a complete set of
instruments, which he planned to present to
King James II of England .The fate of these
instruments is unknown.
Stradivari’s early
career is marked by wide experimentation,
and his instruments during this period are
generally considered of a lesser quality than
his later work.However, the precision with
which he carved the heads and inserted the
purfling quickly marked him as one of the
most dextrous craftsmen in the world, a
prime example of this being the 1690
“Tuscan” violin.
In the early 1690s, Stradivari made a
pronounced departure from this earlier style
of instrument-making, changing two key
elements of his instruments. First, he began
to make violins with a larger pattern than
previous instruments, which are usually
dubbed “Long Strads”. He also switched to
using a darker, richer varnish, as opposed to
a yellower varnish similar to that used by
Amati. He continued to use this pattern until
1698, with few exceptions. After 1698, he
abandoned the Long Strad model and
returned to a slightly shorter model, which he
used until his death. The period from 1700
until the 1720s is often termed the “golden
period” of his production. The instruments
made during this time are usually considered
of a higher quality than his earlier
instruments. Late-period instruments made
from the late 1720s until his death in 1737
show signs of Stradivari’s advancing age.
These late instruments may be a bit less
beautiful than the Golden Period instruments,
but many nonetheless possess a fine tone.
Stradivari died on 18 December 1737. He
wa s b u r i e d i n t h e C h u r c h o f S a n
Domenico,
which was
destroyed and
now there’s a
headstone in
the place
where the
Church used
to be.