Benvenuto Cellini and the Embodiment of the Modern Artist

A clear-eyed reconsideration of a scandalous Renaissance sculptor’s autobiography and art. Benvenuto Cellini was a murderer, thief, lover of all genders, rival of popes and princes, as well as an ingenious artist. In his legendary autobiography, the Vita , Cellini describes his activities vividly and in lurid detail. Many of the most disturbing passages have been dismissed as fiction, but in this clear-eyed portrayal, Andreas Beyer argues that these sensational accounts of the body, sex, and ext