Benvenuto Cellini and the Embodiment of the Modern Artist

The arthistory public has long been both fascinated and repelled by renownedRenaissance sculptor Benvenuto Cellini. He was a murderer, thief, lover ofall genders, servant and rival of popes and princes, as well as an ingeniousartist. In his legendary autobiography, the Vita, Cellinidescribes his activities vividly and in lurid detail. Often, the mostdisturbing passages were dismissed as fiction. In this clear-eyed portrayal,Andreas Beyer argues that these sensational accounts of body, sex and extremeexperiences are not only entertaining but authentic. They reveal the truedepth of Cellini's character: an artist who embraced life's full spectrum andshattered all boundaries. This book asserts that the roots of artisticautonomy in modernism can be traced back to Cellini's audacious life andwork.