Amati facts for kids
Amati is the name of a famous family from Italy. For about 200 years, from 1549 to 1740, they made some of the most amazing violins ever created. They lived and worked in Cremona, a town in Italy that is very famous for making musical instruments.
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The Amati Family: Master Violin Makers
The Amati family were expert instrument makers, often called luthiers. They specialized in making string instruments like violins, violas, and cellos. Their instruments are still highly valued today.
Andrea Amati: The Violin's Inventor
One of the most important members of the family was Andrea Amati. He was born before 1511 and passed away in Cremona on 24 December 1577. Many people think of him as the person who invented the violin in the way we know it today.
Andrea made violins, violas, and cellos. A few of his instruments are still around today. They were made between 1564 and 1574. Some even have the coat of arms of Charles IX of France on their backs, showing they were made for royalty!
The Amati Brothers: Improving Instruments
Andrea Amati had two sons who also became famous instrument makers: Antonio Amati and Girolamo Amati. Antonio was born around 1540 and died on 14 February 1607. Girolamo was born around 1561 and passed away on 21 October 1630.
They are known as "The Brothers Amati." Together, they made important improvements to the instruments. They perfected the shape of the "f holes" (the sound holes on the violin). They also made their instruments stronger. The brothers also created some larger violas and cellos. Their work had a huge influence on all other violin makers who came after them.
Nicolò Amati: The Most Famous Amati
Nicolò Amati was the son of Girolamo Amati. He is often considered the most famous member of the entire Amati family. Nicolò was born on 3 December 1596 and died on 12 April 1684.
He became a very skilled violin maker by 1630, the year his father died. For a few years after that, times were tough because of the plague. Not many people could afford to buy new instruments. But after 1640, things got better, and Nicolò made many incredible instruments.
The violins he made that have survived are now among the most wanted and expensive in the world. He made instruments that were a bit wider, which were known as the “Grand Pattern.” Many other violin makers learned from him. Some of his famous students include Andrea Guarneri and possibly even Antonio Stradivari.
Girolamo Amati II: The Last of the Line
The last instrument maker in the Amati family was Nicolò's son, Girolamo Amati, also known as Hieronymus II. He was born on 26 February and died on 21 February, 1740.
While he made some improvements to his father's designs, his instruments are generally not considered as good as those made by Nicolò. Around this time, Antonio Stradivari became the greatest violin maker, and the Amati family's long reign of instrument making came to an end.
Related Pages
Images for kids
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This violin, now at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, may have been part of a set made for the marriage of Philip II of Spain to Elisabeth of Valois in 1559, which would make it one of the earliest known violins in existence.
See also
In Spanish: Amati para niños
