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Andrea Amati

Andrea Amati is considered to be the inventor of the violin as we know it today. He was the first violin maker in Cremona, and he and his descendants established the city’s reputation as the home of violin making.

More importantly, his conception of the violin provided the inspiration for all subsequent instruments, including those of Stradivari and Guarneri del Gesù. Given our familiarity with later instruments, it is difficult to fully appreciate the modernity of Andrea’s work, but the design that he established has remained largely unaltered for 450 years.

Few of Andrea Amati’s instruments survive today. Of those that do, many were commissioned by wealthy patrons and royalty, such as the celebrated group of instruments made for Charles IX of France. These instruments date from 1564 to 1574, and we must assume that Amati had been working for some time prior to that date to have won a commission from the French court. His earliest known instrument is thought to date from 1546, but sadly all trace of it has been lost. The instruments made for Charles IX were decorated with the royal coat of arms, and the cutdown viola illustrated here was also decorated to reflect its ownership, in this case by a noble Italian family of the rank of Marquis.

Andrea Amati

(b c1505; d Cremona, 1577)

Andrea Amati is considered to be the inventor of the violin as we know it today. He was the first violin maker in Cremona, and he and his descendants established the city’s reputation as the home of violin making.

More importantly, his conception of the violin provided the inspiration for all subsequent instruments, including those of Stradivari and Guarneri del Gesù. Given our familiarity with later instruments, it is difficult to fully appreciate the modernity of Andrea’s work, but the design that he established has remained largely unaltered for 450 years.

Few of Andrea Amati’s instruments survive today. Of those... Read more

Instruments we have sold by this maker

Articles

Andrea Amati: Chronicles of a Rediscovered Treasure

12 May 2023 - Dilworth, John

The discovery of a violin by Andrea Amati amongst the collection of the late Norman Rosenberg, to be auctioned by Ingles & Hayday, is one of many remarkable finds amid a treasure trove of fascinating and illuminating instruments and bows,... Read more

The Rosenberg Collection Part I – Cremona

13 January 2023 - Dilworth, John

The collection of instruments gathered together by Norman Rosenberg over a 70-year career as a dealer and connoisseur tells us a great deal about the nature of collecting itself, and what a collection actually means. In this case, the instruments... Read more

Part VI: The Decline and Renaissance of Italian Violin Making

26 April 2021 - Dilworth, John

The Evolution of Violin Making from 16th-20th Century Part VI

Part V: The Question of ‘Italian Tone’

26 April 2021 - Dilworth, John

The Evolution of Violin Making from 16th-20th Century Part V

Part IV: Violin Making Outside Cremona

19 April 2021 - Dilworth, John

The Evolution of Violin Making from 16th-20th Century Part IV

Part III: Cremona’s Second Genius

19 April 2021 - Dilworth, John

The Evolution of Violin Making from 16th-20th Century Part III

Part II: The Amati Dynasty

12 April 2021 - Dilworth, John

The Evolution of Violin Making from 16th-20th Century Part II

Part I: The Origins of the Violin

12 April 2021 - Dilworth, John

The Evolution of Violin Making from 16th-20th Century Part I

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