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Andrea Amati  (Italian, Cremona ca. 1505–1578 Cremona)

Date:
ca. 1560
Geography:
Cremona, Italy
Medium:
Spruce, maple, ebony
Dimensions:
Overall: 57.4cm (22 5/8in.) Label: 20.2 x 57.5cm (7 15/16 x 22 5/8in.) Body length: 35.26 cm (approx. 13-15/16 in.) Lower bouts: 20.15 cm (approx. 7-15/16 in.) Upper bouts: 16.12 cm (approx. 6-5/16 in.) Center bouts: 10.75 cm (approx. 4-1/4 in.)
Classification:
Chordophone-Lute
Credit Line:
Purchase, Robert Alonzo Lehman Bequest, 1999
Accession Number:
1999.26

This artwork is not on display

  • Description

    Andrea Amati, earliest of the great Cremonese luthiers, has been credited with defining the violin's elegant form and setting the standard of superb craftsmanship that likewise characterizes the work of his followers, including two of his sons, his grandson Nicolò Amati, and Antonio Stradivari. The maker's label inside the body is a modern facsimile, but the violin's authenticity has never been seriously challenged, and its age has been confirmed by dendrochronology. Remnants of original varnish appear beneath later coats.

    The maple back and sides are decorated with a Latin couplet of unknown origin: "Quo unico propugnaculo stat stabiq[ue] religio" (By this bulwark alone religion stands and will stand). Additional painted ornaments are mostly worn off, but the fleurs-de-lys suggest a French provenance. Similarly decorated instruments by Andrea Amati bear a motto associated with the court of Charles IX, whose mother, Catherine de Médicis, cultivated Italian music in France.

  • Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

    Marking: 1. (stamped on front edge of fingerboard, dealer's inventory number) 3272 2. the internal paper label is a modern facsimile

  • References

    Dobney Jayson Kerr. "Guitar Heroes: Legendary Craftsmen from Italy to New York." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin (2011), pg. 8,10, ill.

    Moore J. Kenneth. Philippe de Montebello and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1977-2008. Ed. James R. Houghton The Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 2009, pg. 76-77, fig. 90-91, ill.

    Fausto Cacciatori, Heyde Herbert in Andrea Amati Opera Omnia: Les Violons du Roi. Exhibition catalogue., Consorzio Liutai Antonio Stradivari Cremona. 2007, pg. 214-223, ill.

    "Recent Acquisitions: A Selection 1998-1999." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin (1999), pg. 28, ill.



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    In the Museum
    Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History
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