Stradivarius 

Antonio Stradivari (1644?-1737) - Violin ('The Messiah')

Stradivarius

Antonio Stradivari (c.1644–1737) – or Stradivarius as he is usually known – is the only maker of musical instruments whose name ranks alongside those of the great composers. While the details of his life are not as familiar as those of Vivaldi or Mozart, his name succeeds in evoking a creative genius in the popular imagination. The Ashmolean’s summer 2013 exhibition will feature some of the world’s most important musical instruments on loan from international collections; and it will show a recreation of Stradivarius’s workshop where visitors will be able to follow the creation of a violin from a log of spruce through to the finished instrument.
http://www.ashmolean.org/