ticketsMember | Make a donation

"Gould" Violin

1693
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 684
"The Gould" violin has a two-piece maple back with a tight flame and a two-piece spruce top with an orange-brown varnish. Although modern performers continue to use seventeenth- and eighteenth-century stringed instruments by great makers, nearly all of the instruments have been modified in order to remain useful as performance spaces grew larger and repertoire pushed instruments to create louder sound over an extended range.

In 1975, The Metropolitan Museum had the luthier Frederick J. Lindeman of Amsterdam modify "The Gould" so that it would be in a Baroque configuration. He based his alterations on what was known of historical setups from the late seventeenth century, specifically he patterned the fingerboard and tailpiece after surviving original examples on the 1690 "Tuscan-Medici" Strad housed at the Accademia in Florence. Lindeman also fashioned a shorter neck and bassbar and fitted the instrument with a new soundpost, bridge, and pegs, as well as stringing it in gut. "The Gould" is the only violin by the famed master that has been returned to a Baroque setup and that is regularly used for performance of period repertoire.


Certificates:
Albert Caressa, April 25, 1928
Hermann, March 20, 1942

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: "Gould" Violin
  • Maker: Antonio Stradivari (Italian, Cremona 1644–1737 Cremona)
  • Date: 1693
  • Geography: Cremona, Italy
  • Culture: Italian (Cremona)
  • Medium: Maple, spruce, ebony
  • Dimensions: Height: 23 1/4 in. (59 cm)
    Width: 7 3/4 in. (19.7 cm)
  • Classification: Chordophone-Lute-bowed-unfretted
  • Credit Line: Gift of George Gould, 1955
  • Object Number: 55.86a–c
  • Curatorial Department: Musical Instruments

Audio

Cover Image for 9453. Violin

9453. Violin

0:00
0:00
We're sorry, the transcript for this audio track is not available at this time. Please email info@metmuseum.org to request a transcript for this track.

    Listen to more about this artwork

More Artwork

More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
"Antonius" Violin, Antonio Stradivari Italian, Maple, spruce, ebony, Italian (Cremona)
"Antonius" Violin
Antonio Stradivari
1711
"Francesca" Violin, Antonio Stradivari Italian, Maple, spruce, ebony, mother of pearl, Italian (Cremona)
"Francesca" Violin
Antonio Stradivari
1694
The Batta-Piatigorsky Violoncello, Antonio Stradivari Italian, Spruce, maple, ebony
On loan to The Met
The Batta-Piatigorsky Violoncello
Antonio Stradivari
1714
Violin, Nicolò Amati (Cremona 1596–1684 Cremona) Italian, Spruce, maple, Italian (Cremona)
Violin
Nicolò Amati (Cremona 1596–1684 Cremona)
1669
Violin, Joachim Tielke German, Spruce, maple, German
Violin
Joachim Tielke
ca. 1685

Related Content

Perspectives

Articles, audio, and video from The Met's online magazine.

Timeline of Art History

Entries from The Met's art encyclopedia.

Publications

Books, guides, and catalogues published by The Met.

Showing 4 of 7

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.