Books › Notice of Anthony Stradivari, the celebrated violin-maker, known by the name of Stradivarius:, 1864 › scan 86
Scan 86
Notice of Anthony Stradivari, the celebrated violin-maker, known by the name of Stradivarius:, 1864
4 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. Printed page 64. See the scan on archive.org.
1that period to 1725 the instruments which came from his hands are perfect masterpieces. He no longer felt his way; but, being certain of all that he did, he carried his manufacture, even to the minutest details, to the highest possible finish. His model has all the amplitude desirable; the outlines of it are designed with a taste and a purity which, after a century and a half, still excite the admiration of connoisseurs. The wood, selected with the keenest discernment, unites to richness of figure all the conditions of sonority. For the back, as well as for the sides, he then altered the disposition of it, having the timber cut on the quarter (sur maille) instead of on the layers (sur couche). The arching of his instruments, without being too elevated, falls off in gentle and regular curves, which leaves it all the requisite flexibility. The sound-holes, cut with the hand of a master, became models for shape and size (modèles de dispositions) to all his successors. The scroll, which had assumed a more severe character, is carved with great perfection. The beautiful, warm tone of the varnish of Stradivarius takes its date from this period: the quality of it is fine and extremely supple.
3The workmanship of the interior of the instrument displays no less perfection; all is there finished with the greatest care. The degrees of thickness are adjusted in a rational manner, and are remarkable for a precision which could not have been attained except by long study. The back, the belly, and all the parts of which the instrument is composed, are in a perfectly harmonious relation. It was, doubtless, repeated trials and diligent observations which also led Stradivarius,
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