The art history public has long been both fascinated and repelled by the renowned Renaissance sculptor Benvenuto Cellini. He was a murderer, thief, lover of both genders, servant and rival of popes and princes, as well as an ingenious artist. In his legendary autobiography, the Vita, Cellini describes his activities vividly and in lurid detail. Often, the most disturbing passages were dismissed as fiction. In this clear-eyed portrayal, Andreas Beyer argues that these sensational accounts of body, sex and extreme experiences are not only entertaining but authentic. They reveal the true depth of Cellini’s character: an artist who embraced life’s full spectrum and shattered all boundaries. This book asserts that the roots of artistic autonomy in modernism can be traced back to Cellini’s audacious life and work.