Benvenuto Cellini's life

The book “The Life of Benvenuto, the son of Maestro Giovanni Cellini, the Florentine, written by himself in Florence” is one of the most remarkable works of literature of the XVI century. Benvenuto Cellini began writing his autobiography in 1558, but most of the manuscript was written by the hand of a 14-year-old boy, Cellini's secretary, and a few more pages were done with the other hand. The chronicle reaches 1562. In the 18th century, after various adventures, the manuscript disappeared. In 1805, she was found in one of the bookstores in Florence and transferred to the Laurenzian library , where she is to this day. The first print edition appeared in Naples in 1728.

Benvenuto Cellini's life is written in the literary manner that can be called popular, and this differs from such works as “Confession of Blessed Augustine” or “Confession of Rousseau”. In the pages of his book, Benvenuto Cellini did not express any new ideas; he described his adventures, thoughts and feelings with frankness, not typical for the genre of autobiography of the previous time, and made it a rich colloquial language that very convincingly conveys the train of thought and human experience.

Benvenuto Cellini's memoirs inspired Alexander Dumas Sr. to create the Ascanio novel, which describes the period of Benvenuto Cellini's life in France. The novel intertwines the love story of journeyman Ascanio for the daughter of the Parisian Prev - Colombes.

In 1877, composer Emilio Bozzano wrote the opera Benvenuto Cellini based on the libretto by Giuseppe Perosio based on the same autobiography.

In 1945, the Spanish surrealist artist Salvador Dali completed a set of watercolor and ink illustrations for the book ( Spanish ilustraciones de la Autografía de Bevenuto Cellini , now stored in the Dali Theater Museum in Figueres) ^{[1] [2] [3]} .

The author's translation into German ( de: Leben des Benvenuto Cellini ) was performed by Goethe .

The first Russian translations were made in the 19th century, not from the original, but from the French translation:

• The life of Benvenuto Cellini, he himself told: in 2 volumes / Per. V.I.Shtein. - SPb. : M. M. Lederle, 1897. - T. 1: Books I — IV. - 337 p. - (My library).
• The life of Benvenuto Cellini, he himself told: in 2 volumes / Per. V.I.Shtein. - SPb. : M. M. Lederle, 1897. - T. 2: Books V — VIII. - 272 p. - (My library).

For the first time, Mikhail Lozinsky translated the book from Italian:

• The life of Benvenuto, the son of maestro Giovanni Cellini, Florentine, written by himself in Florence / Per., Note. and after M. L. Lozinsky; entry Art. A.K. Dzhivelegova . - M .: Academia , 1931 .-- 736 p. - (Monuments of art and public life).

In the future, Lozinsky's translation was repeatedly reprinted (1958, 1987, etc.).

• Vipper B.R. Benvenuto Cellini // Articles about art / B.R. Wipper. - M .: Art, 1970 .-- 591 p.
• Jivelegov A.K. Essays on the Italian Renaissance: Castiglione, Aretino, Cellini. - M .: Federation, 1929 .-- 235 p.
• Pinsky L. D. Benvenuto Cellini and his Biography: introductory article // Life of Benvenuto, son of maestro Giovanni Cellini, Florentine, written by himself in Florence / B. Cellini; note L. D. Pinsky. - M .:GIHL , 1958. - S. 3-24. - 544 p.
• Podzemskaya N. P. “The Life of Benvenuto Cellini” as a Literary Monument of the Late Italian Renaissance // Renaissance Culture of the 16th Century: Collection of Articles / Russian Academy of Sciences; Scientific Council on the history of world culture; Renaissance Culture Commission; editorial: L.S. Cicolini (ed.) and others .-- M .: Nauka, 1997 .-- S. 157-163. - ISBN 5-02-011566-5 .
• Sorotokina N.M. Benvenuto Cellini. - M .: Veche, 2011 .-- 368 p. - (Great historical figures). - ISBN 978-5-9533-5165-2 .
• Tomashevsky N. B. About this book: introductory article // Life of Benvenuto, son of maestro Giovanni Cellini, Florentine, written by himself in Florence / B. Cellini; note N. B. Tomashevsky. - M .: Fiction, 1987. - S. 7-20. - 496 p. - (Renaissance literature).

• Vita (it.)
• CELLINI, BENVENUTO. The life of Benvenuto Cellini (neopr.) . Eastern literature . Date of treatment May 18, 2011. Archived May 12, 2012.
• The Autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini by Benvenuto Cellini - The Gutenberg Project