Benvenuto Cellini

The Autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini

The Autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini Translated by John Addington Symonds With Introduction and Notes Benvenuto Cellini; 1 November 1500 - 13 February 1571, was an Italian goldsmith, sculptor, draftsman, soldier, musician, and artist who also wrote a famous autobiography and poetry. He was one of the most important artists of Mannerism. The Autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini was started in the year 1558 at the age of 58 and ended abruptly just before his last trip to Pisa around the year 1563 when Cellini was approximately 63 years old. The memoirs 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; as one critic wrote, "[o]ther goldsmiths have done finer work, but Benvenuto Cellini is the author of the most delightful autobiography ever written."