Benvenuto Cellini
Benvenuto Cellini (1500-71), Florentine goldsmith, engraver, and sculptor. His Autobiography (1558-62) de-scribes his tumultuous career. He was expelled from Florence in 1523 for brawling, and later from Rome for embezzling jewels from the papal mint. He lived at the French court from 1540 to 1545, where he made the famous gold salt cellar and the sculpture Nymph of Fontainebleau for Francis I. On his return to Florence he worked for Cosimo de’ Medici. His sculptures include the bronze Perseus (1545-54) and the marble statue Apollo and Hyacinth.
