Cellini, Benvenuto

Cellini, Benvenuto. The Treatises of Benvenuto Cellini on Goldsmithing and Sculpture. Translated by C. R. Ashbee. Bow, England Laurence Hodson, 1898 reprint, New York Dover Books, 1967. 

To grasp the full importance of alchemy in and beyond arte povera, we should leave behind, for now, the two-dimensional support and think about the long-standing trope of sculpture as living material. For example, in his Vita, Benvenuto Cellini boastfully describes the casting of his Perseus. When his assistants fail to keep the molten metal alive, he recounts ... 

Koenigsberger, Dorothy. "Leben des Benvenuto Cellini Goethe, Cellini and Transformation. European History Quarterly 22 (1992) 7—37. 

The sixth book is a lengthy treatise on casting of cannon, bells, and other objects, and for making the molds for such castings, the metals, furnaces and appliances. Those who have read the memoirs of Benvenuto Cellini (1500-1577) will remember his description of such a casting, and... 

On distilling mercury ore, see ibid., 285-86. On making and using aqua fortis, or "parting acid," see ibid., 131-61. Recipes for aqua fortis also appeared in the Italian Benvenuto Cellini s treatise on goldsmithing and sculpture, Benvenuto... 

I think in particular of Varchi s friend, the famous sculptor and metalworker Benvenuto Cellini. For some interesting connections between Cellini and alchemy, see Michael Cole, Cellini s... 

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