Stradivari Giacomo Antonio, *1644 or 1649 Cremona (?), †18 December 1737 Cremona, Italian luthier. The date and place of Stradivari’s birth are controversial, there are no documents from the period of his education, and his entire activity is only confirmed by luthier’s notes, two letters, a manuscript of a will and a few notes. Inlaid instruments, as well as preserved stencils and sketches prove that Stradivari was an excellent draftsman; perhaps he initially apprenticed as a woodcut artist. The first signed instruments come from 1666, 1667 and 1668, and the inscription on the card of his earliest violins indicates that he was a student of N. Amati. However, it is not known when he started working for himself; this may have occurred in 1680, when he purchased his own house. Stradivari was a restless genius, he was not satisfied with repeating a pattern once established, and continued experimenting until the end of his life. All his work testifies to a strong personality; he showed perseverance in implementing his own ideas, and new ideas quickly replaced old ones. The style of his instruments was constantly changing, starting from the outline of the contour and corners, through the formation of the vault, the height of the sides and the location of the string, and ending with the shade of the varnish. Until old age he had extraordinary facility with tools; he was still professionally active at the age of 88.
Since the publication of G. Hart’s work (1875), Stradivari’s work has been divided into 3 or 4 periods. In the first period (1665–85), his violins were created under the overwhelming influence of N. Amati (hence the term “amatise” for this phase). However, this luthier’s greatest innovation, the “grand” model, was initially ignored by Stradivari; most of his early violins are of moderate dimensions, echoing Amati’s “small” model of 1660–70. Stradivari’s originality emerged from the very beginning, and as it developed, the influence of Amati’s style became weaker. Representative of this period is the “Tullaye” violin from 1670, with a golden colour. Soon, Stradivari’s instruments became superior to Amati’s in terms of sound capabilities. Stradivari already had wealthy clients at that time, as evidenced by the richly inlaid “Hellier” violin from 1679. Proof of Stradivari’s growing prestige and fame is also the order in 1682 by a Venetian banker of a complete set of instruments intended for King James II of England. Since then, the number of Stradivari’s works has increased significantly and his originality has become more visible. The death of Amati (1684) contributed to the further growth of the luthier’s position. The years 1684–85 herald clear changes in the design and form of violins: their dimensions increased, approaching Amati’s “large” model from 1640–50, and the structure became more massive. During this time, Stradivari achieved its full potential and unrivalled precision of detail finishing.
The second period (1686–99) was a time of experiments, searches for one’s own style and radical innovations in terms of shape, structure and proportions. Stradivari followed the patterns of the Brescian school; he was particularly inspired by the strong-sounding instruments of G.P. Maggini, which was related to the requirements of outstanding virtuosos who expected greater sound power than previous instruments could provide them. The result of this search was the “extended” model; a change in the proportion of length (increased from 355.5 to 363.5 mm) and width gave the instrument a slim and light appearance, while making it necessary to reduce the waistline; the harmony of the upper, lower and middle arches was preserved. A characteristic example of this model are the “Benett” and “Harrison” violins from 1692–93. In the third, so-called “golden” period (1700–25), Stradivari abandoned the “elongated” model and returned to the 355.5 mm long model. Most violins and cellos have been preserved from this time. Stradivari, constantly experimenting, achieved the most compact model, with a flat vault, ideal proportions and construction, a model embodying long-developed sonic and acoustic principles; violins from this period are characterised by perfect symmetry. These instruments have a spruce top with sparse grain, deeper curves of the lower and upper edges of the board near the corners, and a warm varnish with an orange-red-brown shade; the bottom and sides are made of wide-striped sycamore wood. This model, with an extremely rich and powerful sound, was considered the pinnacle of perfection and became a model that prevails to this day. Its exemplification is one of Stradivari’s greatest masterpieces, the “Betts” violin from 1704, which is a model both for his later instruments (e.g. “Alard” from 1715) and for subsequent generations of luthiers. Stradivari remained faithful to this model until the end of his life, although he also returned to some earlier models. The “Messiah” violin from 1716, which Stradivari kept with until his death, has a unique character; despite the neck being changed in the 19th century, they are still in excellent condition (currently in Oxford; their authenticity is sometimes questioned). At that time, Stradivari completed orders for many European courts: in 1715 he built 12 violins for the Dresden court of Augustus II the Strong. The years 1720–25 are characterised by a certain irregularity of style, and the instruments take on a heavier, more massive and more solid appearance. Various details also reveal Stradivari’s advanced age; the former precision of finishing is no longer present, instruments from this period are characterised by a less regular vault, wider and shorter corners, a more massive edge, the vein set further from the edge of the plate, less refined eaves, and blunt ends of the screw coils. Until the end of his life, Stradivari built instruments with his own hands, not betraying his principles of construction and form.
In the last period (1726–37), due to his old age and lower manual dexterity, he no longer achieved the level of his earlier works. His instruments from that time are fewer in number and gradually lose their former qualities (they are also of poorer quality of wood and varnish), and the craftsmanship becomes less perfect. The irregular vein and clumsily cut edges, clumsily formed corners and edges of his latest works reveal a trembling hand and weakening eyesight. The development of the viola and cello models is slightly different, and he built them in two sizes: a larger one and (from 1710) a smaller one (the so-called B form), which became mandatory from then on.
Stradivari was the most outstanding representative of the Cremonian school. His importance lies in the establishment of a violin model that has a much greater impact than any other model in the history of violin making; Stradivari also established a standard model for the cello. The unique character of his works results from the combination of perfect violin-making technique, perfectly selected wood and the highest quality varnish with an extraordinary sense of proportion and aesthetics, as well as brilliant intuition in shaping sound values. The work of no other violin maker has been the subject of such thorough research dating back to the mid-19th century (F.-J. Fétis). A valuable source of information is the notes of Stradivari’s friend, D. Arisio (†1720), and the later collector I.A. Cozia di Salabue (1755–1840). The greatest contribution came from the research of the Hill brothers, who knew from personal experience over 600 Stradivari instruments. An attempt to describe all the items was made by E.N. Doring, and H.K. Goodking compiled approximately 700 instruments along with the names of 3,500 past and present owners. Despite in-depth studies of Stradivari’s workshop, there is great scepticism about the possibility of solving some problems; only a small part of his instruments was subjected to dendrochronological examination, and the violin sheets had not been comprehensively analysed since the times of the Hill brothers (Cozio di Salabue had already written about the practice of forging them). The number of instruments Stradivari built is also disputed; The Hills estimated it at 1,116, including approximately 1,000 violins. To this day, approximately 600 violins, 35 cellos, 12 violas, and 8 other instruments (guitars, pochette, mandolin, harp) have been preserved in museum collections (in Berlin, Cremona, London, Moscow, Oxford, Paris, Washington) and private hands, as well as several bows and violin forms, templates (including lutes and gambas), drawings and tools. The current names of the instruments are based on the surnames of the former owners (“Alard,” “Joachim,” “Paganini,” “Viotti”), and the appearance of the instruments. (“Dolphin,” “Ruby,” “Titian”), places of storage (“Hawaiian,” “Modena,” “Siberian”), sound properties (“Cello,” “Hercules”) or circumstances of purchase (“Messiah”).
Stradivari was followed by his two sons from his first marriage: Francesco (1671–1743) and Omobono (1679–1742), who presumably collaborated with their father; their instruments (4 Francesca and 12 Omobona), however, are significantly inferior to his works.
Literature: F.-J. Fétis A. S, Paris 1856, English ed. London 1864, reprint 1964; G. Hart The Violin. Its Famous Makers and their Imitators, London 1875; W.H., A. F. and A.E. Hill Antonio Stradivari. His Life and Work (1644–1737), London 1902, 2nd ed. 1909, Polish ed. Antonio Stradivari. Życie i dzieło (1644–1737), translation H. Dunicz-Niwińska and M. Dziedzicowa, Kraków 1975; C. Bonetti, U. Gualazzini and A. Cavalcabò Antonio Stradivari. Notizie e documenti, Cremona 1937; E.N. Doring How Many Strads? Our Heritage from the Master, Chicago 1945, 2nd ed. 1998; A. Baruzzi La Casa Nuziale di Antonio Stradivari a Cremona, 1667–1680, Brescia 1959, English ed. London 1962, German ed. Stuttgart 1987; O. von Schulmann Echt oder falsch?, Siegburg 1961; H.K. Goodkind Violin Iconography of Antonio Stradivari, 1644–1737, Larchmont (New York) 1972; S.E Sacconi I „segreti” di Stradivari, Cremona 1972, published in English in Cremona 1979, German ed. Frankfurt am Main 1976, 2nd ed. 1981, French ed. Nantes 1989; I. Vigdorchik The Acoustical Systems of Violins of Stradivari and Other Cremona Makers, Westbury (New York) 1982; L. Gaboardi, E. Zanessi Centocinquant’ anni di studi Stradivariani nella biblioteca di Cremona (1837–1986), “Annali della Biblioteca Statale e Libreria di Cremona” XXXVII, 1987; E. Santoro Antonio Stradivari, Cremona 1987; A. Mosconi, C. Torresani Il Museo Stradivariano di Cremona, Milan 1987; “The Strad” XCVIII, 1987, special ed.; D. Draley The Transition of the Amati Workshop into the Hands of Stradivari, 1660–1684, “Journal of the Violin Society of America” IX, 1988; Stradivari e la liuteria Cremonese dall’ U. R. S. S., ed. G. Spotti, Cremona 1988; R. Hargrave The Method of Construction Used by the Cremonese Makers Circa 1550–1750 and A. Dipper The Geometric Construction of the Violin Forms of Antonio Stradivari, “Journal of the Violin Society of America” X, 1989; Alte Meistergeigen, ed. H.K. Herzog, vol. 3–4: Die Cremoneser Schule. Antonio Stradivari, Frankfurt am Main 1990; S. Pollens The Violin Forms of Antonio Stradivari, London 1992; C. Beare, B. Carlson Antonio Stradivari. The Cremona Exhibition of 1987, London 1993; E. Santoro Epistolario di Cozio di Salabue (1755–1840), Cremona 1993; G. Gregori La harpe et les guitares de Stradivari, “Musiques, Signes, Images” II, 1996; C. Chiesa, D. Rosengard The Stradivari Legacy, London 1998; S. Pollens Le Messie oraz Messiah Redux, “Journal of the Violin Society of America” XVI, 1999 and XVII, 2000; J. Topham The Dendrochronology of Stradivari’s Violins, “Journal of the Violin Society of America” XVII, 2000; “Genius Stradivari”. Muzeum Narodowe w Poznaniu, październik–grudzień 2001, Poznań 2001 (catalogue of an exhibition); J. Whiteley Le Messie Stradivarius?, “The Galpin Society Journal” LV, 2002; M. Herzog Stradivari’s Viols, “The Galpin Society Journal” LVII, 2004.
