Benvenuto Cellini 161136 224603525 2008-07-09T16:46:31Z Contaldo80 391855 <!-- FAIR USE of Autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini.JPG: see image description page at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini.JPG for rationale --> {{Two other uses|the sculptor|the Berlioz opera|Benvenuto Cellini (opera)|the John Patrick Shanley play|Cellini (play)}} [[Image:CelliniBust.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Bust of Benvenuto Cellini on the Ponte Vecchio, Florence.]] '''Benvenuto Cellini''' ([[November 3]], [[1500]] &ndash; [[February 13]], [[1571]]) was an [[Italy|Italian]] [[goldsmith]], [[painter]], [[sculpture|sculptor]], [[soldier]] and [[musician]] of the [[Renaissance]], who also wrote a famous [[autobiography]]. ==Biography== ===Youth=== Benvenuto Cellini was born in [[Florence, Italy]], where his family had been landowners in the [[Val d'Ambra]] for three generations. His father, Giovanni Cellini, built and played [[musical instrument]]s; he married Maria Lisabetta Granacci, and eighteen years elapsed before they had children. Benvenuto was the second child. Giovanni initially wished Benvenuto to join him in instrument making, and endeavoured to thwart his inclination for metalwork. When he was fifteen, his father reluctantly agreed to apprentice him to a goldsmith, Antonio di Sandro, nicknamed [[Marcone]]. At the age of sixteen, Benvenuto had already attracted attention in Florence: after a fray with youthful companions, he escaped punishment by fleeing for six months to [[Siena]], where he worked for a goldsmith named Fracastoro (unrelated to the Veronese [[polymath]]); from there he moved to [[Bologna]], where he became a more accomplished [[flute]]-player and made progress as a goldsmith. After visiting [[Pisa]], and twice resettling in Florence (where he was visited by the sculptor [[Torrigiano]]), he decamped to [[Rome]], age nineteen. ===Work in Rome=== His first works in Rome were a [[silver]] casket, silver [[candlestick]]s, and a [[vase]] for the [[bishop]] of [[Salamanca]], which won him the approval of [[Pope Clement VII]]. Another celebrated work from Rome is the gold medallion of "[[Leda and the Swan]]" &mdash; the head and torso of Leda cut in hard stone &mdash; executed for the Gonfaloniere Gabbriello Cesarino, which is now in the [[Vienna]] [[museum]]. He also took up the flute again, and was appointed one of the pope's court musicians. In the attack upon Rome by [[Charles III, Duke of Bourbon]], Cellini's bravery proved of signal service to the [[pontiff]]; according to his own accounts, he himself shot Charles III dead and killed [[Philibert of Châlon|Philibert of Châlon, prince of Orange]]. (In reality, Orange did not die until the [[War of the League of Cognac#Florence (1529–30)|siege of Florence]] in 1530). His bravery led to a reconciliation with the Florentine magistrates, and he soon returned to his hometown. Here he devoted himself to crafting medals, the most famous of which are "[[Hercules]] and the Nemean Lion", in [[gold]] ''repoussé'' work, and "[[Atlas (mythology)|Atlas]] supporting the Sphere", in chased gold, the latter eventually falling into the possession of [[Francis I of France]]. From Florence he went to the court of the duke of [[Mantua]], and then again to Florence and to Rome, where he was employed not only in the working of [[jewelry]], but also in the execution of dies for private medals and the [[papal mint]]. Here in 1529 his brother Cecchino had killed a Corporal of the Roman Watch and in turn had been wounded by an arquebusier; Cecchino died of his wound; soon afterward Benvento killed his brother's killer &mdash; an act of [[blood revenge]] but not justice as Benvenuto admits his brother's killer had acted in self-defense and fled to [[Naples]] to shelter himself from the consequences of an affray with a [[Civil law notary|notary]], Ser Benedetto, whom he wounded. Through the influence of several [[Cardinal (Catholicism)|cardinal]]s he obtained a pardon; and Cellini found favor with the new pope, [[Pope Paul III|Paul III]], notwithstanding a fresh homicide of a rival goldsmith Pompeo Of Milan which he had committed more by accident than by premeditated malice, during the ''[[interregnum]]'' three days after the death of Pope Clement VII in September 1534. He was saved from arrest only because of a safe-conduct by the Pope. This is the fourth killing Cellini boasts of in his Memoirs. The plots of [[Pierluigi Farnese]], a natural son of Paul III, led to Cellini's retreat from Rome to Florence and [[Venice]], where he was restored with greater honour than before. At the age of 37, upon returning from a visit to the French court, he was imprisoned on a charge (apparently false) of having embezzled during the war the gems of the pope's [[tiara]]; he was confined in the [[Castel Sant'Angelo]], escaped, was recaptured, and treated with great severity, and was in daily expectation of death on the scaffold. At last, the intercession of Pierluigi's wife, and especially that of the Cardinal d'Este of [[Ferrara]], secured Cellini's release (he gave d'Este a splendid cup in gratitude). For a while, he worked at the court of Francis I, at [[Fontainebleau]] and [[Paris]]; but he considered the [[Anne de Pisseleu d'Heilly|duchesse d'Étampes]] to be set against him. Also, he refused to conciliate the king's favorites and could no longer silence them by the sword, as he had silenced his enemies in Rome. Thus, after about five years of sumptuous work but continual jealousy and violence, Cellini returned to Florence, where he continued as a goldsmith and became the rival of sculptor [[Baccio Bandinelli]]. The first collision between Cellini and Bandinelli had occurred several years before when Pope [[Clement VII]] commissioned Cellini to mint his [[coin]]age. Now, in an altercation before Duke Cosimo, Bandinelli accused Cellini of [[Homosexuality#History|gross immorality,]] calling out to him ''Sta cheto, soddomitaccio!'' (Shut up, you filthy sodomite!). In his autobiography Cellini recalls repelling rather than denying the charge, claiming to be unworthy of such a divine and royal diversion. Certainly his art, often celebratory of the young male form, is a testimonial to his appreciation of that beauty. [http://www.androphile.org/preview/Museum/Europe/rogue.htm Some of Cellini's homoerotic classical references] ===Death=== During the war with Siena, Cellini was appointed to strengthen the defences of his native city, and, though rather shabbily treated by his ducal patrons, he continued to gain the admiration of his fellow-citizens by the magnificent works which he produced. He died in Florence in 1571 and was buried with great pomp in the church of the Annunziata. He had supported in Florence a widowed sister and her six daughters. ==Personal relationships== ===Marriage=== Cellini is known to have taken some of his female models as mistresses, having an illegitimate daughter with one of them while living in France.{{Fact|date=March 2008}} After briefly attempting a clerical career, in 1562, he married a servant, Piera Parigi, with whom he claimed he had five children, of which only a son and two daughters survived him. ===Homosexuality=== Homosexuality appears several times in Cellini's autobiography. For example in Book I he speaks of having frequented a youth named Luigi Pulci in Rome. Cellini describes him as handsome, virtuous and highly intelligent, but when the youth rejected his attentions in favour of someone else, he described him as a common hustler. In his sculpture, he produced two homoerotic sculptures for his own enjoyment. A sculpture of ''[[Apollo]] and [[Hyacinth]]'' clearly shows the erotic link between the god and the youth, and one of ''[[Narcissus]]'' portrays the sexual attractiveness of a handsome naked youth. Cellini was officially charged or accused four times with [[sodomy]]: *On 14 January 1523 at the age of 23 he was sentenced to pay 12 staia of flour for relations with a boy named Domenico di ser Giuliano da Ripa (perhaps thanks to his youth at the time he escaped with only a fine)<ref>I. Arnaldi, ''La vita violenta di Benvenuto Cellini'', Bari, 1986</ref> *While in Paris, a former model and lover brought charges against him of using her "after the Italian fashion." This is the only charge recounted in his autobiography, possibly because his confrontation with his accuser at court led to a dismissal of charges.<ref>I. Arnaldi, ''La vita violenta di Benvenuto Cellini'', Bari, 1986</ref> *In Florence in 1548, Cellini was accused by a woman named Margherita, for having certain familiarities with her son, Vincenzo. The trial was not carried out and he went free on this occasion<ref>L. Greci, 'Benventuto Cellini nei delitti e nei processi fiorentini' Archivio di anthroplogia criminale, 50 (1930)</ref> *Finally, on 26 February 1556, his apprentice Fernando di Giovanni di Montepulciano, after being fired for an altercation, accused his mentor of having sodomised him many times<ref>''Cinque anni ha tenuto per suo ragazzo Fernando di Giovanni di Montepulciano, giovanetto con el quale ha usato carnalmente moltissime volte col nefando vitio della soddomia, tenendolo in letto come sua moglie'' (For five years he kept as his boy Fernando di Giovanni di Montepulciano, a youth whom he used carnally in the abject vice of sodomy numerous instances, keeping him in his bed as a wife.) </ref>This time the penalty was a hefty fifty golden scudi fine, and four years of prison, remitted to four years of house arrest thanks to the intercession of the [[Medici]]s<ref>I. Arnaldi, ''La vita violenta di Benvenuto Cellini'', Bari, 1986</ref> == Works == [[Image:PerseusSignoriaStatue.jpg|thumb|left|238px|''Perseus with the Head of Medusa'' in the Loggia dei Lanzi gallery on the edge of the [[Piazza della Signoria]] in [[Florence]]; picture taken after the statue's cleaning and restoration.]] Besides his works in gold and silver, Cellini executed [[sculpture]]s of grander scale. The most distinguished of these is the [[bronze]] group of "[[Perseus]] holding the head of [[Medusa]]", a work (first suggested by Duke [[Cosimo I de Medici]]) now in the [[Loggia dei Lanzi]] at Florence, his attempt to surpass [[Michelangelo]]'s [[David]] and [[Donatello]]'s [[Judith and Holofernes (Donatello)|Judith and Holofernes]]. The casting of this work caused Cellini much trouble and anxiety, but it was hailed as a masterpiece as soon as it was completed. The original relief from the foot of the pedestal &mdash; Perseus and [[Andromeda (mythology)|Andromeda]] &mdash; is in the [[Bargello]], and replaced by a cast. By 1996, centuries of environmental [[pollution]] exposure had streaked and banded the statue. In December of that year it was removed from the Loggia and transferred to the [[Uffizi]] for cleaning and restoration. It was a slow, years-long process, and the restored statue was not returned to its home until June of 2000. Among his art works, many of which have perished, were a colossal [[Mars (god)|Mars]] for a fountain at Fontainebleau and the bronzes of the doorway, coins for the Papal and Florentine states, a life-sized silver [[Jupiter (god)|Jupiter]], and a bronze bust of [[Bindo Altoviti]]. The works of decorative art are florid in style. In addition to the bronze statue of Perseus and the medallions already referred to, the works of art in existence today are a medallion of [[Clement VII]] commemorating the peace between the Christian princes, 1530, with a bust of the pope on the reverse and a figure of Peace setting fire to a heap of arms in front of the temple of [[Janus (mythology)|Janus]], signed with the artist's name; a signed portrait medal of [[Francis I]]; a medal of Cardinal [[Pietro Bembo]]; and the celebrated gold, enamel and ivory salt-cellar (known as ''[[Saliera]]'') made for Francis I at Vienna. This intricate 26-cm-high sculpture, of a value conservatively estimated at 58,000,000 schilling, was commissioned by Francis I. Its principal figures are a naked sea god and a woman sitting opposite each other with legs entwined, symbolically representing the planet Earth. "Saliera" was stolen from the [[Kunsthistorisches Museum]] on [[May 11]], [[2003]] by a thief who climbed scaffolding and smashed windows to enter the museum. The thief set off the alarms, but these were ignored as false, and the theft remained undiscovered until 8:20 AM. On [[January 21]], [[2006]] the ''Saliera'' was recovered by the Austrian police and is supposed to be returned to the Kunsthistorisches Museum in the coming days. One of the most important works by Cellini from late in his career was a life-size nude crucifix carved from marble. Although originally intended to be placed over his tomb, this crucifix was sold to the Medici family who gave it to Spain. Today the crucifix is in the [[Escorial]] Monastery near Madrid, where it has usually been displayed in an altered form--the monastery added a loincloth and a crown of thorns. For detailed information about this work, see the text by Juan López Gajate in the Further Reading section of this article. Cellini, while employed at the papal mint at Rome during the papacy of Clement VII and later of Paul III, created the dies of several coins and medals, some of which still survive at this now defunct mint. He was also in the service of [[Alessandro de Medici]], first duke of Florence, for whom he made in 1535 a forty-soldi piece with a bust of the duke on one side and standing figures of the [[saint]]s Cosma and Damian on the other. Some connoisseurs attribute to his hand several plaques, "Jupiter crushing the Giants", "Fight between Perseus and [[Phinaeus]]", a Dog, etc. The important works which have perished include the uncompleted [[Chalice (cup)|chalice]] intended for Clement VII; a gold cover for a prayer-book as a gift from Pope Paul III to [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor]] &mdash; both described at length in his autobiography; large silver statues of Jupiter, [[Vulcan (mythology)|Vulcan]] and Mars, wrought for Francis I during his sojourn in Paris; a bust of [[Julius Caesar]]; and a silver cup for the cardinal of Ferrara. The magnificent gold "button", or morse, made by Cellini for the cape of Clement VII, the competition for which is so graphically described in his autobiography, appears to have been sacrificed by [[Pope Pius VI]], with many other priceless specimens of the goldsmith's art, in furnishing the 30,000,000 francs demanded by [[Napoleon]] at the conclusion of the campaign against the [[States of the Church]] in 1797. According to the terms of the treaty, the pope was permitted to pay a third of that sum in plate and jewels. Fortunately there are in the print room of the [[British Museum]] three [[watercolour]] drawings of this splendid morse by F. Bertoli, done at the instance of an Englishman named Talman in the first half of the 18th century. The obverse and reverse, as well as the rim, are drawn full size, and moreover the morse with the precious stones set therein, including a diamond then considered the second largest in the world, is fully described. Benvenuto's works are mentioned as "priceless" in Mark Twain's "The Prince and the Pauper." == Cellini in literature and music== ===Cellini's Autobiography and other writings=== [[Image:Autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini.JPG|right|thumb|175px|''Autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini'', Penguin Classics edition 1998.]] Cellini's [[autobiography|autobiographical]] memoirs, which he began writing in Florence in 1558, give a detailed account of his singular career, as well as his loves, hatreds, passions, and delights, written in an energetic, direct, and racy style. They show a great self-regard and self-assertion, sometimes running into extravagances which are impossible to credit. He even writes in a complacent way of how he contemplated his murders before carrying them out. He writes of his time in Paris: {{cquote|When certain decisions of the court were sent me by those lawyers, and I perceived that my cause had been unjustly lost, I had recourse for my defense to a great dagger I carried; for I have always taken pleasure in keeping fine weapons. The first man I attacked was a plaintiff who had sued me; and one evening I wounded him in the legs and arms so severely, taking care, however, not to kill him, that I deprived him of the use of both his legs. Then I sought out the other fellow who had brought the suit, and used him also such wise that he dropped it.<ref>Chapter XXVIII, '''The Autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini''', as translated by John Addington Symonds, Dolphin Books edition, 1961.</ref>|10px}} Parts of his tale recount some extraordinary events and phenomena; such as his stories of conjuring up a legion of devils in the [[Colosseum]], after one of his not innumerous mistresses had been spirited away from him by her mother; of the marvelous halo of light which he found surrounding his head at dawn and twilight after his Roman imprisonment, and his supernatural visions and angelic protection during that adversity; and of his being poisoned on two separate occasions. Here, the veracity of his account may be questioned, but it is not possible to know with certainty the final truth of these matters. The autobiography has been translated into English by Thomas Roscoe, by [[John Addington Symonds]], and by A. Macdonald. It has been considered and published as a classic, and commonly regarded as one of the most colourful autobiographies (certainly the most important autobiography from the Renaissance).<ref>[[New International Encyclopedia]]</ref> Cellini also wrote treatises on the goldsmith's art, on sculpture, and on design. ===Cellini in the works of others=== The life of Cellini also inspired the French [[historical novel]]ist [[Alexandre Dumas, père]]. His ''[[Ascanio]]'' is based on Cellini's years in France, centered on Asciano, an apprentice of Cellini. Dumas' trademark plot twists and intrigues feature in the novel, in this case involving Cellini, the duchesse d'Etampes, and other members of the court. Cellini is portrayed as a passionate and troubled man, plagued by the inconsistencies of life under the "patronage" of a false and somewhat cynical court. Cellini was also the subject of an [[Benvenuto Cellini (opera)|eponymous opera]] by [[Hector Berlioz]] and a [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] [[Musical theatre|musical]], ''The Firebrand of Florence'', by [[Ira Gershwin]] and [[Kurt Weill]], which featured [[Lotte Lenya]] (Mrs. Weill) as one of the sculptor's royal conquests. The show only ran for a month on Broadway, although some of its songs are periodically revived. It marked the last major collaboration between Weill and Gershwin, who are best known for ''Lady in the Dark'' (1941). [http://www.ibdb.com/production.asp?ID=1687] Cellini's autobiography is one of the books [[Tom Sawyer]] mentions as inspiration while freeing Jim in ''[[The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn]]''. In "[[Rappaccini's Daughter]]" by [[Nathaniel Hawthorne]], an antidote to poison is presented in a vase "wrought by the hands of Benvenuto Cellini." [[Herman Melville]] compares Ahab, at the captain's first appearance, to a sculpture of Cellini. From ''[[Moby-Dick]]'' chap. 28; "His whole high, broad form, seemed made of solid bronze, and shaped in an unalterable mould, like Cellini's cast Perseus." ==Notes== In Les Misérables in Marius' chapter "There are Benvenuto Cellinis in the galleys, even as there are Villons in language." {{reflist}} Les Misérables by Victor Hugo ==References== *{{1911}} ==Further reading== * López Gajate, Juan. El Cristo Blanco de Cellini. San Lorenzo del Escorial: Escurialenses, 1995. * Pope-Hennessy, John Wyndham. Cellini. New York: Abbeville Press, 1985. * Parker, Derek: Cellini. London, Sutton, 2004. '''Angela Biancofiore, Benvenuto Cellini artiste-écrivain: l'homme à l'oeuvre, Paris, L'Harmattan, 1998'''==External links== {{Commons|Benvenuto_Cellini}} * {{gutenberg|no=4028|name=Autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini'', Symonds translation'}} *[http://www.androphile.org/preview/Museum/Europe/rogue.htm Homoerotic works in the Androphile image collection] *[http://www.booksinmyphone.com/index.php?author=Benvenuto%20Cellini Free to read on a cell phone] - Autobiography of Cellini. '''More images of the restored ''Perseus'':''' *[http://www.pbase.com/yolyn/image/33903662/original Reverse angle (400k) from Pbase] * {{gutenberg author| id=Benvenuto+Cellini | name=Benvenuto Cellini}} *[http://www.scultura-italiana.com/Galleria/Cellini%20Benvenuto/ More images] {{DEFAULTSORT:Cellini, Benvenuto}} [[Category:1500 births]] [[Category:1571 deaths]] [[Category:People from Florence]] [[Category:Goldsmiths]] [[Category:Italian painters]] [[Category:Italian sculptors]] [[Category:Tuscan painters]] [[Category:Renaissance artists]] [[Category:Roman Catholic Church art]] [[Category:Pederasty in the Renaissance]] [[Category:People prosecuted under anti-homosexuality laws]] [[Category:Medallists]] [[Category:Artist authors]] [[Category:Autobiographers]] [[Category:LGBT history in Italy]] [[bs:Benvenuto Cellini]] [[ca:Benvenuto Cellini]] [[de:Benvenuto Cellini]] [[el:Μπενβενούτο Τσελίνι]] [[es:Benvenuto Cellini]] [[fr:Benvenuto Cellini]] [[hr:Benvenuto Cellini]] [[it:Benvenuto Cellini]] [[he:בנוונוטו צ'ליני]] [[lt:Benvenutas Čelinis]] [[hu:Benvenuto Cellini]] [[mt:Benvenuto Cellini]] [[nl:Benvenuto Cellini]] [[ja:ベンヴェヌート・チェッリーニ]] [[pl:Benvenuto Cellini (rzeźbiarz)]] [[pt:Benvenuto Cellini]] [[ro:Benvenuto Cellini]] [[ru:Челлини, Бенвенуто]] [[sk:Benvenuto Cellini]] [[sr:Бенвенуто Челини]] [[fi:Benvenuto Cellini]] [[sv:Benvenuto Cellini]] [[uk:Челліні Бенвенуто]]