Cellini
Cellini was founded by Benvenuto Cellini (1500 - 1571) who was born on 3 November 1500 in Florence, Italy. At 16 years old Benvenuto was exiled from Florence after a brawl he was involved in. He wandered to Bologna, then to Pisa, and finally to Rome and studied in a goldsmiths' workshop. In 1527 Benvenuto fought against Carlo Lanzichenecchi during the pillage of Rome and killed the Conestabile di Borbone with an shot from the walls of Castel Sant'Angelo. Cellini had many other run-ins with the law including some prison time in 1530. During one of his numerous flights from the law, Cellini became to further a career in jewelry and had interest in sculpting becoming a bronze sculptor. In 1535 in Venice he met Jacopo Sansovino, who taught him the technique of casting. After returning to Rome, in 1538 he was arrested with the charge of having appropriated property of pope Clemente VII. Thanks to the protection of Cardinal Cornaro, he escaped just a few days after his capture. He headed to France and settled in fontainebleau at the court of Francois I. Here he forged the Saliera for the king. In 1554 he fled France after becoming a suspect in having stolen from the royal purse ending up in Florence. He worked in Florence before jumping into sculpture again in Madrid where he sculpted Cristo for the Escorial. In 1558 he began working on an autobiography "La Vita" yet stopped writing it as he began working on a treatises on goldsmithing and sculpture. He married Piera de' Parigi after in 1544 he had fathered a child following an affair with a model. Three years later, in 1571, he died in Florence passing his knowledge on scuplting and goldsmithing to his family.
