Antonio Stradivari, master violin maker, died
On this day · 18 December 1737
The Cremona luthier who set the standard for the violin died in 1737, leaving instruments still prized as the finest ever made.
On December 18, 1737, Antonio Stradivari died in Cremona, Italy, at roughly 93. Over a working life of some 75 years he produced an estimated 1,100-plus instruments, mostly violins, and brought the craft to a level later makers have tried, and largely failed, to match.
His finest work came in a so-called golden period, roughly 1700 to 1720, when he refined the proportions, arching, and varnish that define the modern violin. Around 650 of his instruments survive, scattered among museums, collections, and the hands of working soloists.
Centuries on, a genuine “Strad” can command millions, and its precise acoustic magic still resists full explanation.
Institutions from the Victoria and Albert Museum to the Metropolitan Museum of Art hold examples, and his name has become shorthand for the very best a maker’s hands can achieve. Few craftsmen have so thoroughly outlived their own era.
Sources & references
2 referencesWell-established. Corroborated by 2 independent sources.
