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Scan 75
The Hawley Collection of violins, 1904
8 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. Printed page 45. See the scan on archive.org.
1NICOLA AMATI. THE GODING AMATI
3has no standing as a maker. Antonio and Gerolamo Amati, the sons of Andrea, worked together for many years and signed their work with their joint name. They are usually spoken of together as the Brothers Amati. The date of their birth is not known, nor is anything of their early history recorded. Vincenzo Lancetti, the Cremonese biographer, states that the earliest reliable label seen in their instrument bears the date of 1577, and that they worked together until 1628. The death of Gerolamo occurred in 1630, and Antonio continued the business alone until 1648. Their work was far more artistic than their father's; in fact, they were the first makers who seemed to regard the making of the violin as a work of art aside from the production of tone. They raised the standard of workmanship, and by their perfectly formed corners, edges, sound holes, scroll, etc., awakened such keen appreciation of the beautiful in violins that to excel in the workmanship and varnish thereafter became the desire of every violin-maker. In certain makers, the ability to handle tools far exceeded every other qualification; in other cases, some of the men happiest in tone production were poor workmen. But the makers who have risen to fame, excelled in both respects.
5The tone of the Brothers Amati violins is of the greatest purity and beauty. They used a magnificent varnish, the color of which varies from a golden brown to golden red, and they were fortunate in the selection of maple for their backs and spruce for their bellies, which, in their best specimens, for beauty rival any of the more renowned later makes. Their arching, after a graceful dip from the purfling, ascends toward the center in a beautiful sweep. The model is well developed, though not to the extent generally supposed from the imitations one sees bearing forgeries of the Brothers' label. The outline is fascinating in every curve. The middle bouts have a long, graceful sweep, which lends the instrument a slender appearance, and the scroll is fashioned in strict harmony with the feminine grace of the body of the instrument during this later period. In the earlier work it is often of a more Brescian character. The length is under fourteen inches, sometimes as small as 13 12-16 inches. A variance in the style of their sound holes and scrolls is due to the fact, no doubt, that they worked independently of each other—each carrying out his own conception in these details and not working after an accepted model. The sound hole of Antonio is shorter and broader than that of Gerolamo—has more of Andrea's character—is more German in its style, and therefore is considered far less elegant. He was not so artistic in his ideas, nor so skillful with tools. Gerolamo's sound hole is an advance over any that had been produced up to that time, and was the pattern adopted by his son, Nicola, in his early work, and later improved. Its style was in harmony with the instrument. The tone value of the Brothers Amati violins lies in their extreme sweetness and purity of quality, solidity, and elasticity. They made many instruments for royal bands, among them a set for Henry IV. of France. One of the violins of this set belonged to Mr. Hawley at one time, and was purchased from him by his friend Mr. A. H. Pitkin. It is unique because of the ornamentation on the back and sides.
7Nicola Amati was the son of Gerolamo and Madalena Lattazini, and, according to the church records of Cremona, and the researches of M. Fetis, was born on September 3, 1596. The Amatis were descended from a noble family, prominent in affairs of state, art, and church during a period of three centuries, according to the
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