Mandolin

Art Historical Context

Crafted in 1770 by the skilled Italian luthier Giovanni Battista Bizaro, exquisite mandolin exemplifies the golden age of Italian instrument-making during the late Baroque period. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's of Musical Instruments, it a compact 52.5 cm in length, with a slender body just 23.5 cm long and 14.5 cm wide—perfectly suited for intimate chamber music and virtuoso performances popular in 18th-century Europe. As a chordophone-lute-plucked instrument, it features a vaulted back and soundboard designed to produce the bright, resonant tones that captivated audiences from Naples to Vienna. Bizaro employed premium materials with masterful precision: yew for the elegant back, prized for its strength and figuring; spruce for the soundboard, valued for its acoustic clarity and responsiveness; bone for durable inlays or frets; and ebony for rich, contrasting accents. These choices not only enhanced the mandolin's visual beauty—evoking the opulence of Rococo aesthetics—but also optimized its playability and tonal quality, reflecting advanced lutherie techniques honed in Italy's renowned workshops. Acquired in 2002 through the Clara Mertens Bequest in memory of André Mertens, this mandolin offers a tangible link to Italy's vibrant musical heritage. It whispers of serenades under moonlit balconies and the rise of the mandolin as a soloist's delight, inviting visitors to imagine its strings alive with the melodies of a bygone era.