Andrea Amati Founder of a dynasty of Italian bowed instrument makers Country: Italy

Biography of Andrea Amati

Andrea Amati (c. 1520 - c. 1580) is the founder of the Amati dynasty, a family of Italian stringed instrument makers from Cremona (c. 1520-1740). His teachers are unknown, but during his time, two renowned masters from Brescia, Gasparo da Salo and Giovanni Maggini, were his contemporaries. These three craftsmen are considered the creators of the first modern type of violins. However, it would be an exaggeration to see them as the first makers of high-quality stringed instruments. They inherited the tradition of making viols (and lutes), which were represented by a few surviving instruments. There are documentary records of violins being used for more than 30 years (and possibly earlier) before the appearance of the first known instruments made by Andrea Amati, dated 1564. On the other hand, pictorial materials indicate that during Andrea's lifetime, there was a model of the instrument that differed from the one established as the Amati standard in Cremona and his colleagues in Brescia. This later type of instrument did not undergo significant changes a century later with the great Antonio Stradivari. The Amati violin type remained unchanged throughout subsequent generations; there were two sizes: the larger, or grand Amati, measured 35.5 cm in length, while the smaller one measured 35.2 cm. Andrea also crafted violas and cellos.