Benvenuto Cellini summary

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saltcellar of Francis ISaltcellar of Francis I, encrusted enamel and gold, by Benvenuto Cellini, 1540; in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.

Benvenuto Cellini, (born, Nov. 1, 1500, Florence—died Feb. 13, 1571, Florence), Italian sculptor and goldsmith active principally in Florence. Early in his career he worked in Rome, producing coins, medallions, seals, vessels, and a variety of other objects in precious and semiprecious metals. In 1540 he began his most famous work of this type, a gold saltcellar encrusted with enamel, for Francis I at Fontainebleau; other royal commissions followed. For Cosimo I he produced large-scale sculpture in the round; the bronze Perseus (1545–53) in the Loggia dei Lanzi in Florence is his masterpiece. His fame owes as much to his autobiography as to his work as an artist; it achieved immediate popularity for its lively account of his tumultuous life and its vivid picture of Renaissance Italy.

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medal Summary

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sculpture Summary

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metalwork Summary

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