Scan 105
The violin, its famous makers and their imitators, 1887
6 lines. Read by computer on 28 September 2026. No printed page number was found. See the scan on archive.org.
1made manifest. The style of each was distinct, and one was immeasurably superior to the other. Antonio deviated but little from the teaching of his father. The sound-holes even of his latest instruments partake of the Brescian type, and the model is the only particular in which it may be said that a step in advance is traceable; here he wisely adopted a flatter form. His work throughout, as regards finish, is excellent.
3Girolamo Amati possessed in a high degree the attributes of an artist. He was richly endowed with that rare power—originality. It is in his instruments that we discover the form of sound-hole which Niccolò Amati improved, and after him, the inimitable Stradivari perfected. Girolamo Amati ignored the pointed sound-hole and width in the middle portions observable in his predecessor's Violins, and designed a model of extremely elegant proportions. How graceful is the turn of the sound-hole at both the upper and lower sections! With what nicety and daintiness are the outer lines made to point to the shapely curve! Niccolò Amati certainly improved even upon Girolamo's achievements, but he did not add more grace; and the essential difference between the instruments of the two is, that there is more vigour in the sound-hole of Niccolò than that of his father Girolamo.
5The purfling of the brothers Amati is very beautifully executed. The scrolls differ very much, and in the earlier instruments of these makers are of a type anterior to that of the bodies. Further, the varnish on the earlier specimens is deeper in colour than that found on the later ones, which have varnish of a beautiful orange tint, sparingly laid on, and throwing up the markings of the wood with much distinctness. The material used by these makers and the
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