#stradivarius

The 1714 Joachim-Ma Stradivarius !

The working instrument was crafted in 1714 by Antonio Stradivari during his renowned “Golden Period”. 

This extraordinary instrument—valued at $12-18 million—is a centerpiece of the February Masters Week auction in New York. With all proceeds supporting scholarships at New England Conservatory (NEC), this sale is a celebration of artistry, history, and philanthropy.

This may or may not be coherent but I wish to ramble about a semi niche phenomenon in art and also show off my violin cause that’s basically my child (her name is Elizabeth). I don’t play much any more — I can thank the horrors of a really competitive orchestra for that — but I had it out since a string needed to be replaced.

For those of you who are not violinists, Stradivarius is like the Leonardo da Vinci of luthiers (instrument makers). To be clear, I do NOT have a 10 million dollar violin (one was sold at auction like this week or something). The label inside a violin is supposed to say who made it and when it was made but mine is maybe a 100 years old, not 300. Much like the Mona Lisa, artisans would copy master violins to learn/practice and a lot of the time they didn’t put their names on them. There’s like a ton of really amazing copies of the Mona Lisa made by Leonardo’s students which are really the only reason we know what the sketches and techniques may have looked like. Stradivarius was SUCH an incredible luthier that we literally don’t know some of the techniques he used anymore and the copies are still wonderful instruments.