Girolamo Amati (1561, Cremona — 2 November 1630,
Ibid.) was an Italian luthier and maker of violins and other bowed string instruments, son of
[url=/artist/14952707]Andrea Amati[/url] (ca.1505—1577) and father of legendary
Nicolo Amati (1596—1684). Girolamo began working alongside Antonio, his older sibling, as "
[url=/artist/16414534]Brothers Amati[/url]," and carried on the family workshop, assisted by Nicolò in the final years. He stood at the foundation of the renowned Cremonese luthiery school.
Name variations: Girolamo I, Gerolamo, Ieronimo, Jerome, Hieronymus
In contrast to his father and older brother, Girolamo's biography has been reconstructed to a fuller extent. Even though the specific birthdate is still unknown, the year
1561 (instead of "1555" erroneously cited in the early reference literature) was established definitively, as pointed out in Liliana Pannella's biographical entry in
Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani (1960), thanks to a power of attorney from July 1584 discovered in Cremona's notary archives which specified Girolamo's age as 23. In early 1578, after Andrea Amati died, 17-year-old Girolamo co-inherited the paternal house and proliferating workshop in St Faustino and Giovita parish with his elder brother, who was around 40 and had been working under their father for over 15 years at this point. Eventually, two siblings established a partnership, as indicated by joint luthier's labels: '
Antonius, & Hieronymus Fr.〈atelli〉
Amati | Cremoneñ.〈ſis〉
Andreæ fil.〈s〉' ("Brothers Antonio and Hieronymus Amati / in Cremona, sons of Andrea").
Unlike Antonio, who presumably never started a family, Girolamo was married twice. The identity of his first wife is not established definitively. (Earlier sources, like Willibald L.F. von Lütgendorff's
Die Geigen- und Lautenmacher 〈…〉 (1904) and Friedrich Niederheitmann's
Cremona: An Account Of The Italian Violin-Makers And Their Instruments (1894), claimed he married "
Ippolita Zucchielli" (d. 27th October 1630) in 1576, and they had five daughters. Later authors wrote about the marriage with "
Lucretia Cornetti" circa 1574.) In May 1584, Girolamo Amati married
Laura Lazzarini, which has been confirmed by Italian musicologist Giovanni De Piccolellis (1839—1928) by reference to an archival marriage certificate (now presumably lost). They reportedly had nine children, and the fifth, born in December 1596, was famed
[url=/artist/7534119]Nicola[/url].
In late 1588, Girolamo bought out his brother's share in the business. Presumably, it was an amicable separation, and Antonio chose to retire early, given that Girolamo continued using the joint "Fr.[atelli] Amati" branding for many years. Over the following decades, his production notably increased, and Amati soon became the top maker in Cremona, while the city's reputation as the "homeland" of finest violins kept spreading across Europe. Around 1610, his teenage son Nicolò began assisting to meet the unprecedented demand. Girolamo Amati produced very few decorated and gilded instruments (which were, for the most part, their father's "trademark") — reflecting the changing market, where the majority of new clients were professional musicians, versus nobility and aristocratic collectors. Circa 1615, Girolamo Amati began making contralto violas of much smaller dimensions; according to some organologists, he was one of the earliest Italian luthiers to champion such an outline (comparable to the size of contemporary violas). Girolamo died in early November 1630, at the age of 69, a victim of the major plague in northern Italy, which claimed the lives of his wife and two daughters just a few days earlier. Nicolo, who was 34 at the time, took over Amati's family workshop.
