Part 2 (1/2)
The numismatist knows full well how, on the coins used in various countries, the masters of ba.s.so-relievo had concentrated their skill on the subject. The balance of projection and depression for good and proper effect under different situations of light and shade, or even independently of them on occasion--is of paramount importance in all branches of art in their widest range. The omission of proper thoughtful attention in this direction is one of the obstacles to success among copyists in any direction of art. In architecture the imitator or restorer of some early English mouldings has often made ignominious failures from the non-application of knowledge of this kind: just a trifling variation from the original while in progress being deemed of little consequence, but when finished and left for exhibition under the truth testing rays of the sun, the qualities that should have been there are, as the saying is, ”conspicuous by their absence.” In full view of the above and with an intelligence unsurpa.s.sable, Antonio Stradivari so arranged his forms and ma.s.ses in construction that under fair usage and wearing down of the projecting parts, the original beauty of the whole should be retained as long as possible. A fine Stradivari much worn still retains its air of distinction, and very much of its material must have disappeared under bad treatment to make it beyond recognition almost at a glance.
There can be very little question of there being more than mere admiration for the appearance. Simply viewed, there is the spice of romance in connection with it, the history is written in language more or less intelligible of the knocks and bruises inflicted, unwillingly in most instances, but not invariably so. And here attention may perhaps be appropriately drawn in these pages to what has been a.s.serted by a few, very few, dealers and others, whose general intelligence should have been a guarantee against the dissemination of utter nonsense and which has even been in print! that--just think of this--Antonio Stradivari, the acknowledged master liutaro of Cremona in his own day, and of whose growing fame no one can foretell the limits--actually imitated wear and tear of varnish on his violins. I have not the print at hand, and so cannot give the exact words in which this sc.u.m from the boilings of a distorted imagination was conveyed; nor point to the first unfortunate who let it flow abroad. In all probability it came from the same old source, a desire to lift up to a high level worthless imitations of the master, confuse the public mind so as to make it more and more difficult to tell ”t'other from which.”
A fine specimen, and well known, of Stradivari's art was once lying on a table before me. An amateur of considerable attainments and honesty of purpose then present was dilating upon its many beauties and fine preservation; he, I soon found, had by some means become infected with the absurd notion of the varnish having been artistically pecked away by the original maker! Just fancy this--Raphael slitting a hole in his chef-d'oeuvre to make it look old--Michael Angelo chipping some bits from the ceiling of the Sistine just before the scaffolding was removed, or Phidias snapping off a limb and browning the raw surface to please future connoisseurs.
They might all have done this with an equal deficiency of reason and consistency if we allow for one moment any possibility of the genius of such a stamp as that of Antonio Stradivari descending to such depravity.
Those who have lent themselves to this incongruous notion, hastily generalising from insufficient particulars, have strangely overlooked the fact that the same kind of chipping is seen on the violins of other masters, Joseph Guarnerius, Carlo Bergonzi, and others of the Cremonese and Venetian School, besides--going far back--the older ones of Brescia and Pesaro, any number in fact over all Italy.
CHAPTER VI.
SOME MODIFICATIONS IN STRADIVARI'S WORKS--VARIATION IN FINISH OF DETAILS--THE INTERIOR OF HIS VIOLINS--THE BLOCKS AND LININGS--THICKNESSES OF THE TABLES--HEADS OR SCROLLS OF HIS DIFFERENT PERIODS.
We will now resume our consideration of the handiwork of the Cremonese master as regards other details. We left him steadily working through his so-called ”Grand epoch” or, more strictly speaking, his period of finely settled designs in outline and modelling. He had arrived at the goal of his ambition and produced works of excellence which--taking them as a whole--it seemed impossible to improve upon. He was henceforth content to put into them such slight modifications as would prevent too great similarity. Thus we find some were flatter in the arching, others a little shorter, being a trifle under the usual fourteen inches, others again were over it, but there was the same general contour, his now well-known accentuated design, complete as possible in all its details.
From the great number of finished works that were turned out one after another, it is quite reasonable to a.s.sume that there would be occasionally some little evidence of extra pressure of business and consequently less time spent over minor details. That this actually occurred at times there is no doubt and can be perceived clearly when looked for. One instance occurs to me in which the purfling had been cut off a trifle short at the corners and did not quite fill up and make a good mitreing, otherwise all along the border the easy, swift, yet powerful stroke was maintained up to his usual standard of accuracy. In other instances the point or ”bee-sting,” as it is sometimes called, is not so sharply defined perhaps in two corners, while the others were the perfection of minute finish.
It seems fairly certain that the great Cremonese was not at the time thinking of the almost microscopical scrutiny of critics certain to occur one hundred and eighty or so years in the future. These little differences in accuracy of unimportant detail or accidents of work may be taken as evidence that Stradivari was labouring day by day to meet the requirements of patrons different in disposition and perhaps patience. When at the same period he has been allowed to put his full time and attention to his work, then we find the four corners of equal unsurpa.s.sable finish, and other minute details over the whole structure so intently studied that nothing could possibly go beyond. These should really and appropriately be termed his ”grand pattern.” There is present in those instances the combined excellences in the highest degree of mechanical precision, beautiful proportion and drawing, such as no master designer of the Renaissance could surpa.s.s, the choicest materials, including splendid varnish, the whole united and capped with that essential, a beautiful tone.
A few words about the interior of Stradivari's instruments; one kind of work is perceptible in all of them. There is not, as we may see in the works of other masters, that off-handed, or even slovenly want of finish inside while the whole attention of the maker has been concentrated on the exterior. With Stradivari all is well done, the blocks, end and corner ones are carefully faced and have little, if any can be seen, of the tool marks left upon them. The linings let into the corners are in every instance done with minute exactness. The wood of these and the blocks is a kind of Italian poplar, sometimes called willow and by the French sallow; it is light and has no threads like pine to cause difficulty in the manipulation. Too much importance has been attached by critics to the presence of this wood in Stradivari's violins. That it had nothing whatever to do with the excellence of tone quality is clear from the fact of makers of inferior skill and less renown for tone having used it in the same parts. The most likely reason is--as most repairers have concluded--the absence of thread, its lightness, pliability and evenness of texture, being thereby adapted for the necessary long strips for fitting round the curves. Some makers used it invariably, while others did so occasionally, perhaps not always having a stock on hand. When for some reasons, such as being worm eaten or badly fractured, it has been found compulsory to remove them and subst.i.tute others in their place and of other wood, there has been no perceptible deterioration in the tone either as regards quality or quant.i.ty. Not only so, but there is the fact that many of the Italian masters and their numerous pupils, to say nothing of makers of a lower order, as often as not sent forth their violins without linings, some even without corner blocks. In most of these instances, however, the ribs were left very stout in substance in order to retain a sufficient holding surface for the glue. The subtle curvings of the ribs of an Amati, and more so of a Stradivari, almost precluded the use of a very thick material, especially so when the curl or figure was bold and elaborate. In consonance with this, we find with Stradivari that the thin plate or veneer from which the ribs have been cut is not thick, but of accurate and equal measurement along its course. The linings being equally true and fitting in the closest manner to the ribs, are in their original state somewhat stouter, the middle or waist ones parting slightly on approaching the corner blocks each way and thus giving a gradually increasing area of attachment (diag. _h_). All of the four blocks are well trimmed off and their surfaces levelled, being quite regular in their form and size and trimmed to proper measurement. The end blocks serving to sustain the greatest amount of strain longitudinally, are also found well finished, in contrast with so many seen in instruments by makers of eminence that are simply hacked roughly into size and shape. They were carefully estimated in their proportion for strength sufficient to resist the strain caused by the size, length, and pull of the strings in use at the time of Stradivari, and with something to spare, so that even now, under the enormous strain of the modern high pitch, when in perfect and original condition they are equal to their task. In a number of instances, when much repairing, good or bad has been done, the end, and often the corner blocks, have been replaced by modern ones. There is, of course, under these circ.u.mstances less of Stradivari present, but it has often been a case of painful necessity or question of expense as to the choice between two steps for restoration to health and particularly for strength. The form viewed vertically adopted by Stradivari was that of a parallelogram with two rounded corners (diag. _i_.). The upper block was left a little thicker, the junction or root of the neck necessitating this. The renewal of one or both of these has also been caused incidentally by the deep insertion of the modern and longer neck, thus lessening much of the grip or purchase of the block on both upper and lower table. The same may be said of the nut over which the tail string pa.s.ses, this being--owing also to the rise of the modern tone pitch and increase of tension--much larger than in Stradivari's day, and he may in a sense be said to have had to buckle to modern requirements.
[Ill.u.s.tration: DIAGRAM _h_.]
[Ill.u.s.tration: DIAGRAM _i_.]
While the seat as it were of our criticism is at the present moment in the interior portion of the admirable structures bequeathed to us by the great Cremonese, we may consider further the surface work of this part.
Everyone knows that the interior of a violin is left unvarnished by violin makers. Stradivari was in no way anxious to become an exception to this rule. The reasons for its adoption were, and are, still obviously wise, although not necessitous. He knew that his work, in common with that of other craftsman, would be liable to fracture, and that in the process of restoration the surfaces and junction of parts must be laid bare, and varnish where not obviously necessary would be an obstruction.
For the satisfaction of the anxious inquirer it may be stated that varnis.h.i.+ng the interior has, to my knowledge, been tried by an excellent modern workman as an experiment and did not bring any adequate reward by perceptible improvement in tone quality. In another instance, to prevent the encroachment of the collector's arch-enemy, the worm, the innovation seemed to have proved ineffectual. Stradivari may have tried this and perhaps, for once at least, met with failure. The bar--there is but one--ofttimes erroneously called sound-bar or ba.s.s-bar--is, in common with all the violins of the old Italian school, quite inadequate for modern requirement, that of supporting the upper table on the fourth string side against the pressure caused by the tension of the third and fourth, the heaviest strings.
That the length, thickness and disposition of the bar has much to do with the good going order of every violin there is no disputing.
Stradivari did not live long enough to make acquaintance with the numberless proposals for acquiring his quality by making this part longer, shorter, thicker, or thinner, besides various modes of attachment. That some of them would have raised a smile on the features of the veteran Cremonese, we may be quite sure. That he was quite content with the size of the bar in general use during his life-time there can be no doubt, as there is no record or evidence of any experiments having been made by him, fair argument that none were considered necessary; the instruments finished, the ordinary bar of the period was inserted and there was an end. The whole of the interior indicates an absence of any question of improvement on what had been done before by his master Nicolas Amati and his predecessors, apart from good finish.
A few words as to the thickness of the upper and lower tables. Of this much has been written, an extremely small portion being from actual observation, and most of the other parts being reiterated a.s.sertions started many years back by people whose supposed knowledge rested solely upon simple conviction, without an iota of _bona fide_ evidence in support. To them the fact, well known to everyone engaged in the manufacture of sound-boards of musical instruments, that a very thick sound-board produces different results to that of a very thin one, was sufficient, therefore the secret of Stradivari with regard to his tone, was ”the adjustment of the thicknesses,” whatever that may mean. The a.s.sertion seeming perhaps rather bare, and wanting some sort of support, was bolstered up with another no less instructive, that if you ”pinged,”
or tapped the separated upper and lower tables of a Stradivari so that they each gave out a note there would be found the difference of a tone between them! Here was something for the ”babes and sucklings” of the craft of violin making to swallow. It was stated also which table would give the higher tone. Unfortunately for some would-be Stradivaris, the particulars of the tonal difference were copied loosely and reversed and so came ”confusion worse confounded.”
The ill.u.s.trations of sound holes, or _f f_ commonly so called, will, it is hoped, be interesting as showing the modification or development from those of Nicolas Amati to the latter part of the period of Stradivari's career, called ”the grand.” They are all reproduced from fine specimens of the great Cremonese masters, and are the exact size of the originals. The first (_a_) shows the _f_ of a violin of the Nicolas Amati's late period, 1663, unaffected--at least in this detail--by the individuality of his hereafter eminent pupil. (_b_) While still going under the name of Nicolas Amati, 1678, the _f_ shows the actual interference of Stradivari, it is more vertical, but the peculiarities of the upper and lower wings are retained. (_c_) 1684. The design is quite changed, there is some return to the flow or inclination of Amati, but the whole thing is more extended, is slender, and the upper and lower wings are widened, this modification was retained for a permanency. (_d_) 1690. There is some return to the vertical design, but the width of the wings is retained, while the lower part of the design is of larger proportions. (_e_) 1700. The design is more equalised and is more substantial. (_f_) 1715. The same proportions are kept with an increase of gracefulness. It will be perceived the lower wing approaches at its lowest part the opposing curve more closely, the upper one likewise; in some specimens of this period it is still closer. (_g_) 1725. While the upper part is very like the preceding, the lower part is more contracted and curled up. There is a somewhat heavier expression about the upper part in consequence.
[Ill.u.s.tration: _a_ _b_ _c_ SEE PAGE 48.]
[Ill.u.s.tration: _d_ _e_ _f_ _g_ SEE PAGE 48.]
History does not relate which of those parties who may have practically followed up the experiments were successful in arriving at the goal of their ambition; they may even still be continuing the struggle for supremacy with their master.
We have not to look far for ascertaining whether these a.s.sertions have borne fruit. There has been time enough for works built upon these so-called discoveries of fixed principles to have settled down, and the popular verdict now is--that those which guided Antonio Stradivari have yet to be discovered. The numbers of announcements of fresh discoveries--repeated _ad nauseam_--are in themselves some evidence that what has gone before was founded on deceptive evidence, and therefore to begin anew was the only course left.
The ill.u.s.trations of scrolls by Nicolas Amati and Antonio Stradivari, being from good specimens by the masters, will be interesting as showing the progression of the modification in detail under the hands of the latter. In fig. _a_, Nicolas Amati, c. 1670, it will be seen that the first or smallest turn after leaving the axis or ”eye” is kept for some distance rather close. Every effort seems to have been made for keeping the turns or winding from being too circular, there being a general dip downward and forward. The gouging is deep from the commencement. The aim of the artist in the whole design appears to have been towards perfection of gracefulness.