Portrait of Benvenuto Cellini (1500-1571)
“First I make her suffer with long, completely naked poses, and then I can call Pagolo a cuckold”.
This puzzling phrase, which refers to the perpetration of sexual abuse , is contained in the autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini (1500-1571), one of the greatest artists of our Renaissance.
But an artist, especially one of Cellini's stature, can be a criminal ?
Obviously yes if we take into account the extraordinary curriculum in both areas, that the author of Perseus can boast:sculptor, writer and goldsmith of excellent value on the one hand, thug, rapist and even murderer on the other.
The life of the Florentine master was so turbulent that he retraced his events and details in a single post it is impossible, so here I will limit myself to explaining the episode from which the above sentence emerged.
It all took place in France, where Cellini, in 1540, was called to the court of Francesco I:Caterina, a model of him, and the attendant Pagolo, they accused him of sodomy (we do not know if well founded or not).
There was no joke, the crime could lead to the stake, but the complaint was immediately withdrawn and there were no consequences.
Certainly the sculptor breathed a sigh of relief, but the narrow escape did not dissuade him at all from carrying out a tremendous revenge, indeed, he forced the two young men to marry, subjected the girl to grueling sessions and repeatedly raped her.
A behavior that is not artistic at all and decidedly evil.