CELLINI, BENVENUTO

born , Nov. 1, 1500, Florence died Feb. 13, 1571, Florence Saltcellar of Francis I, encrusted enamel and gold, by Benvenuto Cellini, 1540; in the Florentine sculptor, goldsmith, and writer, one of the most important Mannerist artists and, because of the lively account of himself and his period in his autobiography, one of the most picturesque figures of the Renaissance. Additional reading The best Italian edition of Cellini's autobiography is that of Orazio Bacci, Vita di Benvenuto Cellini (1901); the standard Eng. trans. is by John A. Symonds, 2 vol., (1888; reprinted with notes and bibliography as The Life of Benvenuto Cellini Written by Himself, 3rd ed. 1960). For the Trattati see Carlo Milanesi, I Trattati dell'oreficeria e della scultura di Benvenuto Cellini (1857); C.R. Ashbee, The Treatises of Benvenuto Cellini on Goldsmithing and Sculpture (1898, reprinted 1967); and John Pope-Hennessy, Italian High Renaissance and Baroque Sculpture, 2nd ed. (1970).