A Timeline history of the Violin Bow - from c. 1600 - 1800
... the sources in detail ...
after Guido Reni (Italy, 1575 - 1642)
In 1606, Guido Reni painted St. Cecilia, a lady playing the violin, gamba style, looking ecstatically up to the heavens. It is a stunningly beautiful painting - but not unproblematic. Was the violin (for that it clearly is) really played like a Viola da Gamba??. The mystery deepens, when you see the next painting ...
... apparently a copy (one of many?) of Reni's original St. Cecilia. We do not know who painted this - nor have I been able to find where it is (this copy is from Wikigallery). The violin position and bow hold have been 'updated' to 'normal' violin position. In any case, the short highly arched bow and the relatively high "on the stick" bow-hold resonate with what we read (see for example, Prinner, or Muffat) about the Italian style later in the 17th century. Once again, in both versions, we see a short bow (about the length of the violin), made of light coloured wood - plum, perhaps?