Editing Benvenuto Cellini (section)

== In literature, music and film ==

===Autobiography===
''The Autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini''<!--book title--> 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,<ref name="srf.ch"/> and delights, written in an energetic, direct, and racy style; as [[Herbert Maryon|one critic]] wrote, "Other goldsmiths have done finer work, but Benvenuto Cellini is the author of the most delightful autobiography ever written."{{sfn|Maryon|1971|p=286}} Cellini's writing shows a great self-regard and self-assertion, sometimes running into extravagances which are impossible to believe. He even writes in a complacent way of how he contemplated his murders before carrying them out. He writes of his time in Paris:

{{blockquote|When certain decisions of the court were sent me by those lawyers, and I perceived that my cause had been unjustly lost, I had recourse for my defence to a great dagger I carried; for I have always taken pleasure in keeping fine weapons. The first man I attacked was a plaintiff who had sued me; and one evening I wounded him in the legs and arms so severely, taking care, however, not to kill him, that I deprived him of the use of both his legs. Then I sought out the other fellow who had brought the suit, and used him also such wise that he dropped it.|''The Autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini'', Ch. XXVIII, translated by John Addington Symonds, Dolphin Books, 1961}}

Parts of his tale recount some extraordinary events and phenomena; such as his stories of conjuring up a legion of devils in the [[Colosseum]], after one of his mistresses had been spirited away from him by her mother; of the marvellous [[halo (optical phenomenon)|halo]] of light which he found surrounding his head<ref>[http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/11/06/1157071/-Optical-effects-Heiligenschein-Holy-Light-and-a-metaphor-with-the-hubris-of-the-mighty# This is a known optical physical effect, called ''heiligenschein''.]</ref> at dawn and twilight after his Roman imprisonment, and his supernatural visions and angelic protection during that adversity; and of his being poisoned on two separate occasions.{{sfn|Rossetti|Jones|1911|p=605}}

The autobiography was translated into English by [[Thomas Roscoe]], by [[John Addington Symonds]], by Robert H.H. Cust and [[Sidney J.A. Churchill]] (1910), by [[Anne Macdonell]], and by George Bull. It has been considered and published as a classic, and commonly regarded as one of the more colorful autobiographies (certainly the most important autobiography from the [[Renaissance]]).{{citation needed|date=May 2013}}{{sfn|Maryon|1971|p=286}}

===Other works===
[[File:Dell'oreficeria.tif|thumb|upright|''Dell'oreficeria'' ("On the Goldsmith's Art", 1811)]]
Cellini wrote treatises on the [[goldsmith]]'s art, on sculpture, and on design.{{sfn|Rossetti|Jones|1911|p=605}}

===In the works of others===
[[File:Carlino ClementeVII.jpg|thumb|Clement VII medallion]]

{{see also|Portraits of Benvenuto Cellini}}

The following is a list of works influenced by Cellini or that reference him or his work:
* The life of Cellini inspired the French historical novelist [[Alexandre Dumas, père]]. His 1843 novel ''L'Orfèvre du roi, ou Ascanio'' is based on Cellini's years in France, centered on Ascanio, an apprentice of Cellini. Dumas' trademark plot twists and intrigues feature in the novel, in this case involving Cellini, the Duchesse d'Étampes, and other members of the court. Cellini is portrayed as a passionate and troubled man, plagued by the inconsistencies of life under the "patronage" of a false and somewhat cynical court. That novel was the basis for [[Paul Meurice]]'s 1852 play ''Benvenuto Cellini'' which, in turn, was the basis for [[Louis Gallet]]'s [[libretto]] for [[Camille Saint-Saëns]]' 1890 opera ''[[Ascanio]]''.
* [[Rolex]] chose to name their line of precious metal dress watches after Cellini, with the Rolex Cellini Collection beginning in 1928 and continuing today.
* [[Honoré de Balzac|Balzac]] mentions Cellini's ''Saliera'' in his 1831 novel ''[[La Peau de chagrin]]''.
* Cellini was the subject of an [[Benvenuto Cellini (opera)|eponymous opera]] by [[Hector Berlioz]], as well as another of the same title by [[Franz Lachner]].<ref>{{Cite Grove 2001|last=Leuchtmann|first=Horst|volume=14|page=96|title=Benvenuto Cellini}}</ref>
* Cellini's life is the subject of the [[Broadway Stores|Broadway]] musical, ''[[The Firebrand of Florence]]'', by [[Ira Gershwin]] and [[Kurt Weill]].
*''[[The Affairs of Cellini]]'' is a 1934 comedy film directed by [[Gregory La Cava]] and starring [[Frank Morgan]], [[Constance Bennett]], [[Fredric March]], [[Fay Wray]], and Louis Calhern. The film was adapted by [[Bess Meredyth]] from the play ''The Firebrand of Florence'' by [[Edwin Justus Mayer]].
* Cellini's life is an occasional point of reference in the writings of [[Mark Twain]]. [[Tom Sawyer]] mentions Cellini's autobiography as an inspiration while freeing Jim in the ''[[Adventures of Huckleberry Finn]]''. Cellini's work is also mentioned in ''[[The Prince and the Pauper]]'' in Chapter VII: "Its furniture was all of massy gold, and beautified with designs which well-nigh made it priceless, since they were the work of Benvenuto."<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jAacDgAAQBAJ&q=Its+furniture+was+all+of+massy+gold%2C+and+beautified+with+designs+which+well-nigh+made+it+priceless%2C+since+they+were+the+work+of+Benvenuto&pg=PA29 |title=The Prince and the Pauper |last=Twain |first=Mark |date=28 February 2017 |publisher=Lulu.com |isbn=9781365790935 |access-date=October 2, 2021}}</ref> And in ''[[A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court]]'', chapter XVII, Cellini is alluded to as the epitome of brutal, immoral, and yet deeply religious aristocracy.
* [[Herman Melville]] compares his character [[Ahab]], at the captain's first appearance, to a sculpture by Cellini in ''[[Moby-Dick]]'' chapter 28; "His whole high, broad form, seemed made of solid bronze, and shaped in an unalterable mould, like Cellini's cast [[Perseus]]."
* [[Judy Abbott]] mentions Cellini's autobiography in [[Jean Webster]]'s schoolgirl romance novel ''[[Daddy-Long-Legs (novel)|Daddy-Long-Legs]]''.
* In Victor Hugo's novel ''[[Les Misérables]]'', Marius's chapter contains the line "There are Benvenuto Cellinis in the galleys, even as there are Villons in language."<ref>Victor Hugo, ''Les Misérables''</ref>
* The [[Surrealism|Surrealist]] artist [[Salvador Dalí]] was also highly influenced by the life of Cellini, centering many etchings and sketches around his stories and passions. 
* Cellini's autobiography is mentioned several times in Muriel Spark's ''[[Loitering with Intent|Loitering With Intent]]''.
* [[Lois McMaster Bujold]] loosely bases the character Prospero Beneforte in her 1992 fantasy novel ''[[The Spirit Ring]]'' on Cellini and his works.<ref>Bujold, Lois McMaster, ''The Spirit Ring'', {{ISBN|0-671-57870-7}} (Author's Note)</ref>
* The American poet [[Frank Bidart]] studies Cellini in "The Third Hour of the Night", a long poem from his 2005 book ''Star Dust''.
* [[Ian Fleming]] mentions Cellini multiple times in his James Bond novels. In the second James Bond novel, ''[[Live and Let Die (novel)|Live and Let Die]]'', the villain Mr. Big says that he wishes his crimes to "be a work of art, bearing my signature as clearly as the creations of, let us say, Benvenuto Cellini."<ref>{{Cite book|title=Live and Let Die|last=Fleming|first=Ian|publisher=Thomas & Mercer|year=1954|isbn=9781612185446|location=Las Vegas|pages=71}}</ref> In the seventh James Bond novel, [[Goldfinger (novel)|''Goldfinger'']], Bond says of the titular villain: "... Goldfinger was an artist - a scientist in crime as great in his field as Cellini or Einstein in theirs."
* Fictional works by Cellini feature in [[Agatha Christie]]'s ''[[The Labours of Hercules]]'', in [[Nathaniel Hawthorne]]'s "[[Rappaccini's Daughter]]"; and the film ''[[The Girl from Missouri]]'' (1934).
* In ''The Medusa Amulet'' by [[Roberto Masello]], (Vintage 2011), Cellini creates the menacing Medusa Amulet. 
* [[Evelyn Anthony]]'s ''The Poellenberg Inheritance'' (1972) features the fictional Poellenberg Salt, inspired by the [[Cellini Salt Cellar|''Saliera'']].
* Cellini is mentioned in [[George Orwell]]'s ''[[Down and Out in Paris and London]]'' as reminding the protagonist of a waiter as ''a good fellow when one got to know him''.
* The fictional secret agent, Nick Carter, owns a pearl-handled, 400-year-old stiletto said to have been made by Cellini, which is featured regularly in the ''[[Nick Carter-Killmaster]]'' series of novels.
* The 1966 film ''[[How to Steal a Million]]'' focuses on [[Audrey Hepburn]]'s character's attempts to steal back a fictional statuette of Venus supposedly sculpted by Cellini before art conservators at the museum it has been lent to discover that it is a fake, actually sculpted by her grandfather.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1966/07/15/archives/screen-how-to-steal-a-million-opens-at-music-hall-audrey-hepburn.html|title=Screen: 'How to Steal a Million' Opens at Music Hall; Audrey Hepburn Stars With Peter O'Toole 'Enough Rope' Arrives at Little Carnegie|last=Crowther|first=Bosley|newspaper=The New York Times |date=15 July 1966 |access-date=2018-07-18|language=en}}</ref>
* Full length drama in four acts ''A Man of His Time'' (1923) by Australian playwright [[Helen de Guerry Simpson]] 1897-1940 is entirely concerned with Benvenuto Cellini 1500-1571.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/version/31409832|title = Trove}}</ref>
* ''[[The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles]]'' referenced Cellini several times in the second episode of the series as an artist who lived a particularly "wild" life and that his autobiography was entirely unsuited for a nine-year-old boy.