Benvenuto cellini biography of michael douglas

Benvenuto Cellini b. His tempestuous and violent life, vividly narrated in his autobiography, La Vita di Benvenuto di maestro Giovanni Cellini fiorentino, scritta, per lui medesimo, in Firenze c. Due to his irascible temper and marked egotism, he had numerous conflicts with contemporary fellow artists, while his firm belief in the exceptional value of his own art led him to engage with powerful patrons with an obstinate awareness of what he considered to be his rights and, frequently, an uncommon lack of courtly compliance.

In the last two decades of his life, he composed a lengthy and unfinished autobiography, more than one hundred vernacular poems, two treatises on goldsmithing and sculpture, and several discourses on art. Mainly thanks to the enduring fortune of his autobiography, Cellini is still widely considered to be one of the most versatile talents, as well as one of the most extraordinary writers, of his age.

Starting from the late 20th century, scholars have, however, finally begun to fully appreciate him also as a great Italian artist of the High Renaissance. Probably more than any other Italian artist of his age, Cellini wrote extensively on his own life and works: thus, investigations on his activity as a goldsmith, a sculptor, and a writer have traditionally found a valuable starting point in his own written testimonies, which often share—to various extents—an autobiographic character.

The only available English translation of the Treatises dates back to the late 19th century, even though the text has since been reprinted Ashbee Cellini should also be consulted for the Discorsi sulle arti , which have not been translated in English. Ashbee, Charles Robert, trans.

He began dictating his

New York: Dover, Originally published in Cellini, Benvenuto. Edited by Orazio Bacci. Florence: Sansoni,