Reference Library Makers

B. 1596, d. 1684, Cremona

Son of Girolamo, and most prolific member of the family. Probably active in the workshop from around 1610 and increasingly influential after 1620. After the death of his father in 1631 he used his own label. Introduced a widened form of his father's violin model, now known as the Grand Amati, the most admired and desirable of Amati instruments for playing quality. During the recovery from the plague years of 1630, Nicolo enlarged his workshop by taking apprentices from both within and without the city of Cremona. This played a significant part in the dissemination of the art of violin making throughout northern Italy and beyond. Andrea Guarneri was the most important of these apprentices. Nicolo never declined from the most consummate craftsmanship, but introduced a broad recurve into the arching at the edges of the front and back, which can lead to some weakening of tonal power.