Nicola Amati

Apprenticeship

Nicola probably apprenticed with his father and uncle. By the 1620s, Nicola was the dominant luthier in the Amati workshop.^[6]

Amati style

Of all the Amati Family violins, those of Nicola are often considered most suitable for modern playing. As a young man his instruments closely followed the concepts of his father's, with a relatively small model and high arch rising nearly to a ridge in the centre of both the front and back of the instrument.^[7]

The Latin forms of the first names, Andreas, Antonius, Hieronymus, and Nicolaus, were generally used on the violin labels,^[8] and the family name was sometimes Latinized as Amatus.

Nicola Amati style

Beginning in 1630, he gradually began to show signs of originality, which by 1640 were expressed in what is now known as the "Grand Amati Pattern". This Grand Pattern was slightly larger, the backs being up to 35.6 cm (about 14 inches) long, and most notably, up to 20.9 cm (about 81⁄4 inches) wide, allowed a larger sound.^[3] Well curved, long-cornered, and strongly and cleanly purfled, these instruments represent perhaps the height of elegance in violin making, and were characterized by mathematically derived outlines and transparent amber-colored varnish.^[9] The Grand Amati style was the inspiration for other Cremonese makers such as Vincenzo Rugeri and early violins by Antonio Stradivari.

Distinguished apprentices

After the 1629-1631 Italian plague virtually wiped out all the luthiers of Cremona and Brescia, Nicola singlehandedly continued the local tradition of violin making. Demand for musical instruments began to increase in the 1640s, causing him to be one of the first to take apprentices from outside his family into his workshop. Andrea Guarneri, who eventually founded the Guarneri Family of violin makers, was Amati's pupil.^[10]

Francesco Rugeri may have been a pupil of Nicola Amati, however, like Antonio Stradivari, census records also fail to mention his name in the census of the Amati household.^[11] The lack of census records showing the Rugeri name may be explained by the possibility of Francesco not being an indoor apprentice, but one who lived and boarded at his own home while apprenticing.^[12] Francesco occasionally inserted his labels in his instruments stating he was a pupil of Nicola Amati. For example, there exists a violin labelled "Francescus Rugerius Alumnus Nicolai Amati fecit Cremonæ 1663".^[13] Nicolò Amati was the godfather to Francesco's son, Giacinto, indicating that the two families at least shared a close relationship and close collaboration would seem likely.^[14][15]

Antonio Stradivari was likely a pupil of Nicola, although evidence is scarce. For instance, dendrochronology of the soundboard on a surviving Stradivarius harp from 1681 shows that it was made from the same tree trunk as an Amati cello made in 1679.^[16] The only documentary evidence is one Antonio Stradivari label dated 1666, which reads, "Alumnus Nicolais Amati" - student of Nicolò Amati.^[17] It has always been controversial whether he was an actual apprentice of Nicola Amati or merely considered himself a student and admirer of his work. There are important discrepancies between their work. Some researchers believe early instruments by Stradivari bear a stronger resemblance to Francesco Rugeri's work than Amati's. Additionally, the utilization of a small dorsal pin or small hole, invariably used not just by Nicolò Amati but all of his confirmed pupils—with the exception of Antonio Stradivari, adds further evidence that Stradivari may have learnt his craft apart from Amati. This pin or hole was fundamental in the graduation of the thickness of the plates and was obviously a technique passed on through generations of pupils of the Amati.^[18] This dorsal pin is also not found in any of the instruments of the Rugeri family, suggesting Antonio Stradivari may have actually learnt his craft from Francesco Rugeri, although both being influenced by Amati.^[19] W.E. Hill & Sons concede that they fail to find the hand of Stradivari in any of Nicolo Amati's work, although the unmistakable hands of Andrea Guarneri and Francesco Rugeri are evident.^[20]

Other documented pupils of Amati include: Giovanni Battista Rogeri, Matthias Klotz, Jacob Railich, Bartolomeo Pasta, Bartolomeo Cristofori, Giacomo Gennaro, Giacomo 'Tedesco' (meaning 'German' and probably a nickname), Giacomo Reilich, Giovanni Segher (or Jaeger), and Amati's son, Hieronymus II (often referred to in English as Girolamo).^[21][6][2]

Retirement as luthier

Nicola ceased being actively involved in violin manufacturing by the end of 1670.^[6] Increasingly the handwork of his son, Hieronymus II, is seen on Amati instruments. Amati died on 12 April 1684, aged 87.