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Pianoforte

1720
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 684
Voici l’ancêtre de tous les pianos qui nous sont parvenus, et l’un des trois seuls qui subsistent de l’atelier de Bartolomeo Cristofori, le facteur qui inventa l’instrument vers 1700 à la cour des Médicis, à Florence. Daté de 1720, il est encore en état d’être joué. Son mécanisme complexe préfigure celui des pianos modernes. En revanche, le clavier est moins large et il n’y a pas de pédales. La modulation des tons est assurée plutôt par une tessiture à trois registres distincts : des basses riches et chaudes, un médium plus affirmé, et des aigus brillants mais sans résonance. Conçue essentiellement pour l’accompagnement, l’invention de Cristofori fut baptisée gravicembalo col piano e forte (clavecin grave à nuances douces et fortes), du fait de sa flexibilité dynamique, inconnue jusque-là.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Titre: Pianoforte
  • Artiste: Bartolomeo Cristofori, Italien, 1655–1731
  • Date: 1720
  • Technique: Cyprès, buis, cuivre et autres matériaux
  • Dimensions: L. 228,6 cm
  • Crédits: The Crosby Brown Collection of Musical Instruments, 1889
  • Accession Number: 89.4.1219
  • Curatorial Department: Musical Instruments

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