Bow & Bridge

Amati, Girolamo

Minted in place of an earlier record under this name, retired because the page prints separate entries it had joined as one person: Amati, Girolamo; Amati, Girolamo; Amati, Girolamo

As printed

  1. A dictionary of violin makers (1896)

    Amati, Girolamo, third son and successor of Nicola Amati, b. Feb. 26, 1649; d. Feb. 21, 1740; buried in San Tommaso. His instruments are …

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    2. Amati, Girolamo, second son of Andrea Amati, b. about 1562; d. Nov. 2, 1630. Worked with his brother Antonio till 1628. The earliest reliable date in connection with them is 1577. They produced the first form of the instrument known as "Amatise." The pattern first followed, similar to that of Andrea, was more arched than that used later. Their instruments are few in number, but in good preservation, generally small size (the back often in one piece), of accurate proportions, slightly arched towards the middle, with strongly marked grooves at the sides; the scrolls vary, often richly worked, the corners and the purfling are carefully done, the edges just overlap the sides; the wood generally maple or deal; the varnish, deeper in colour on the earlier instruments (possibly owing to old age), is later of an orange colour, thinly laid on, and throws up the grain of the wood very distinctly. The tone is far more powerful than in Andrea's instruments. A violin signed by them and dated 1595, which belonged to Henri IV. of France, is of historical value. It is made on a large pattern, the oil varnish a brilliant amber colour, the purfling of tortoiseshell, and on the back are painted the royal arms of France and Navarre, &c. Labels: "Antonius et Hieronymus Fr. Amatus, Cremonen, Andreæ fil. F. 1590"; a similar one in a viola dated 1620: "Antonius et Hieronymus Amatus, Cremonen, Andreæ fil. F. 1592"; a similar one dated 1624. After 1624, Girolamo worked alone, making both large and small violins; the former were the finest instruments, much arched, with broad purfling, good scroll, and varnish yellow-brown colour; beautiful tone, but the fourth string was not equal to the others. Girolamo married first Ippolita Zucchinielli (d. 1583), then Laura Lazzarini on May 24, 1584; she had nine children, the fifth child being Nicola, who became the most celebrated maker in the family.
    4. Amati, Girolamo, third son and successor of Nicola Amati, b. Feb. 26, 1649; d. Feb. 21, 1740; buried in San Tommaso. His instruments are poor compared to those made by Nicola; he follows an inferior pattern, the sound-holes being straight and placed too close to each other. The instruments made on a large flat pattern are the best, the sound-holes being wider apart; but the varnish, though sometimes soft and transparent, is generally of bad quality. Labels: "Hieronimus Amatus, fecit Cremonæ, 1670"; "Hieronimus Amatus Cremonensis, fecit anno salutis, 1697"; "Hieronimus Amatus, Cremonen, Nicolai fil., 17—"; "Hieronimus Amatus, Cremonensis, an. 1700"; "Hieronimus Amati, figlio di Niccolò Amati, Cremona, 17—." Instruments with his label dated

  2. A dictionary of violin makers (n.d.)

    Amati, Girolamo, third son and successor of Nicola Amati, b. Feb. 26, 1649; d. Feb. 21, 1740; buried in San Tommaso. His instruments are …

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    2. Amati, Girolamo, second son of Andrea Amati, b. about 1562; d. Nov. 2, 1630. Worked with his brother Antonio till 1628. The earliest reliable date in connection with them is 1577. They produced the first form of the instrument known as "Amatise." The pattern first followed, similar to that of Andrea, was more arched than that used later. Their instruments are few in number, but in good preservation, generally small size (the back often in one piece), of accurate proportions, slightly arched towards the middle, with strongly marked grooves at the sides; the scrolls vary, often richly worked, the corners and the purfling are carefully done, the edges just overlap the sides; the wood generally maple or deal; the varnish, deeper in colour on the earlier instruments (possibly owing to old age), is later of an orange colour, thinly laid on, and throws up the grain of the wood very distinctly. The tone is far more powerful than in Andrea's instruments. A violin signed by them and dated 1595, which belonged to Henri IV. of France, is of historical value. It is made on a large pattern, the oil varnish a brilliant amber colour, the purfling of tortoiseshell, and on the back are painted the royal arms of France and Navarre, &c. Labels: "Antonius et Hieronymus Fr. Amatus, Cremonen, Andreæ fil. F. 1590"; a similar one in a viola dated 1620: "Antonius et Hieronymus Amatus, Cremonen, Andreæ fil. F. 1592"; a similar one dated 1624. After 1624, Girolamo worked alone, making both large and small violins; the former were the finest instruments, much arched, with broad purfling, good scroll, and varnish yellow-brown colour; beautiful tone, but the fourth string was not equal to the others. Girolamo married first Ippolita Zucchinielli (d. 1583), then Laura Lazzarini on May 24, 1584; she had nine children, the fifth child being Nicola, who became the most celebrated maker in the family.
    4. Amati, Girolamo, third son and successor of Nicola Amati, b. Feb. 26, 1649; d. Feb. 21, 1740; buried in San Tommaso. His instruments are poor compared to those made by Nicola; he follows an inferior pattern, the sound-holes being straight and placed too close to each other. The instruments made on a large flat pattern are the best, the sound-holes being wider apart; but the varnish, though sometimes soft and transparent, is generally of bad quality. Labels: "Hieronimus Amatus, fecit Cremonæ, 1670"; "Hieronimus Amatus Cremonensis, fecit anno salutis, 1697"; "Hieronimus Amatus, Cremonen, Nicolai fil., 17—"; "Hieronimus Amatus, Cremonensis, an. 1700"; "Hieronimus Amati, figlio di Niccolò Amati, Cremona, 17—." Instruments with his label dated

  3. Old violins (1905)

    AMATI, Girolamo, third son and successor of Nicola Amati; b. Feb. 26, 1649. (See Chap. V.)

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    1. AMATI, Andrea. The father of the Cremona school, 1525. (See Chap. V.)
    2. AMATI, Antonio, elder son of Andrea Amati; b. Cremona about 1560. (See Chap. V.)
    3. AMATI, Girolamo, second son of Andrea Amati; b. about 1562. (See Chap. V.)
    4. AMATI, Girolamo, third son and successor of Nicola Amati; b. Feb. 26, 1649. (See Chap. V.)
    5. AMATI, Giuseppe. Said to have lived in Bologna, seventeenth century. (See Chap. V.)

Named in 3 books printed between 1896 and 1905. Read by software from scans of those pages, not yet checked by a person against the page. Entries from 3 books stand under this name, and the software judged them near-certain the same person. Tell us if that is wrong and we will split the record.

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Record note

Nothing on this site confirms this record beyond what one or more sources state, and that is the whole basis for it: A dictionary of violin makers (1896); A dictionary of violin makers; Old violins (1905). Entries from 3 books stand under this name, and the software judged them near-certain the same person. Tell us if that is wrong and we will split the record. No claim beyond that has been invented here, which leaves the record not established; tell us if you can change that.

What the books say

Places and dates of work
Amati, Girolamo, third son and successor of Nicola Amati, b. Feb. 26, 1649; d. Feb. 21, 1740; buried in San Tommaso. His instruments are … reported1
Places and dates of work
Amati, Girolamo, third son and successor of Nicola Amati, b. Feb. 26, 1649; d. Feb. 21, 1740; buried in San Tommaso. His instruments are … reported1
Places and dates of work
AMATI, Girolamo, third son and successor of Nicola Amati; b. Feb. 26, 1649. (See Chap. V.) reported1

How the pages were read

3 of the 3 lines here were read from machine text (software that turns a photo of a page into words), not by a person looking at the page image. 3 of them rest on a section heading above a list of names, not on a trade word printed on their own line: “A DICTIONARY OF VIOLIN MAKERS.”, “VIOLIN MAKERS”, “DICTIONARY OF VIOLIN MAKERS”.

Notes

  1. Read from machine text (software that turns a photo of a page into words, or a typed transcription), not by a person looking at the page image. ↩

The books behind this record

This record draws on 3 sources, all read from machine text. The count weighs how well each source was read, not just how many are cited. A stack of half-read sources does not outweigh one page read properly.

  1. Stainer, C. (Cecie), 1867-1937, A dictionary of violin makers (London ; New York: Novello, Ewer, 1896). archive.org, dictionaryofviol00stai_0. https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofviol00stai_0.machine textcited for 1 linesource record

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  2. Stainer, C. (Cecie), 1867-1937, A dictionary of violin makers (London: Novello, n.d.). archive.org, dictionaryofviol00stai. https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofviol00stai.machine textcited for 1 linesource record

    scan page 13, line 7

  3. Haweis, H. R. (Hugh Reginald), 1839-1901, Old violins (Edinburgh, Grant, 1905). archive.org, oldviolins00hawe. https://archive.org/details/oldviolins00hawe.machine textcited for 1 linesource record

    scan page 263, line 23