Guitar
Medium
Spruce, rosewood, cedar, ebony, ivory or bone
Dimensions
Height (Total): 38 in. (96.5 cm) Width (At lower bouts): 14 1/2 (36.9 cm)
Classification
Chordophone-Lute-plucked-fretted
Culture
Spanish
Department
Musical Instruments
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Emilita Segovia, Marquessa of Salobreña, 1986
Accession Number
1986.353.2
Art Historical Context
Step into the world of masterful Spanish lutherie with this stunning 1912 guitar, by the renowned Madrid makers Manuel Ramírez and Santos Hernández. Fashioned from premium tonewoods—spruce for the resonant top, rosewood and for the back and sides, ebony for the fingerboard, and ivory or for inlays—this chordophone exemplifies the pinnacle of early 20th-century guitar construction. Measuring 38 inches in total height and 14½ inches across the lower bouts, its elegant proportions and fretted lute design were optimized for the classical repertoire emerging in Spain's vibrant musical scene. Ramír...
About the Artist
Manuel Ramírez|Santos Hernández (Spanish|Spanish) · 1864 |1874 –1916 |1943
Spanish, Alhama de Aragon, 1864–1916|Spanish, 1874–1943