Stradivari Antonio

  • 1644/49 - Cremona, 18 dicembre 1737
  • Some documents provide evidence that his father was Alessandro Giuseppe. He was probably born between 1644 and 1649, but there is no evidence of the place and the exact dathe of his birth. Considering the style of his first instruments and one early label of his, dated 1666, he has been supposed to be Nicolò Amati's pupil, but by now there is no documentary evidence. He lived in Cremona in the area of Saint Cecilia church until his marriage with Francesca Ferraboschi, when he moved to a house owned by wood-carver Francesco Pescaroli, located in the area of Saint Agatha parish. In 1680 he bought the Picenardi House in Saint Dominic Square, in the area of the parish of Saint Matthew, where he lived with his family and worked until his death, on December 18th, 1737. Since they were young, his sons of the first marriage Francesco (1671-1743) and Omobono (1679-1742) worked with him in the atelier. It seems that Omobono left town for some years, doing different jobs: there is documental evidence of one trip to Naples, in the first quarter of the XVIII Century. Their father's influence on their work has been so strong that the features of their styles have been barely visible until 1720. A son of his of the second marriage, Giovanni Battista Martino (1703-1727), is supposed to have worked in Antonio's atelier. From 1666 to 1737, Stradivari made at least one thousand bowed and plucked instruments of the period, but very few of them have been preserved until now. Among them, the plucked instruments are extremely rare: very few guitars, one portable harp, two mandolins and some violas, about ten of which are “alto” and just one is “tenor” (this one is the “Medicea”, made in 1690, the only Stradivari instrument preserved in its entirety). Stradivari's early cellos were originally as big as the instruments of the late XVII Century; many of them has been later reduced in size. In about 1707, he developed a new cello shape, known as “shape B”: 20 instruments of that kind has been preserved until now. In his latest years, he created two more shapes of cello: the first one is narrower than “shape B”, the other one is smaller and more squared. After his death, his son Francesco inherited the atelier, that was carried on until Francesco's death in 1743. Subsequently, Antonio's son Paolo Stradivari (born in 1708) let it to Carlo Bergonzi and in 1775 sold all the remaining tools, patterns and drawings to the Count of Casale Monferrato, Alessandro Cozio of Salabue.
  • Antonius Stradiuarius Cremonensis / Faciebat Anno ....
creato:giovedì 8 marzo 2012
modificato:domenica 16 dicembre 2018