clamcake posted:

I just finished the book, and definitely identify with Walton's Tor article. Through the book Cellini brags about utterly reprehensible behavior by today's standards, but when I look at his art, I have to think that his awfulness as a human is matched by his totally awesome skill and talent in art.

Just when I'm completely disgusted by his whole Caterina story, he goes into the next story of how to finish his statue of Perseus and Medusa, he had to get up from what he thought was his deathbed, restoke his furnace, and salvage his ruined bronze all in a workshop that's partially ON FIRE because a storm blew flames from the furnace into the roof. It's larger than life and insane.

Cellini was clearly a menace, but if even just half of what he writes is true, I can kind of see how he was able to get away with it in that social world.