Sépulcre de Ligier Richier (église Saint-Étienne)

Saint-Mihiel

In the church of Saint-Étienne at Saint-Mihiel rests one of the summits of French Renaissance sculpture: the Sepulchre, or Entombment, the last known work of Ligier Richier (c. 1500–1567), a native of the town. Between 1554 and 1564, the master of Saint-Mihiel drew from a fine, soft limestone of the Meuse thirteen life-size figures: Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus support the body of Christ above the tomb, Mary Magdalene kneels holding the Saviour's feet, the Virgin swoons in the arms of Saint John, while off to one side soldiers dice for the tunic. The realism of the faces and the rendering of the drapery have moved visitors for more than four centuries. Having converted to the Reformation, Ligier Richier left Lorraine for Geneva; it was most probably his son Gérard who completed the installation of the work. Hidden during the Revolution, it returned to the church in 1797, and from 1840 figured on the first list of historic monuments drawn up by Prosper Mérimée. It was restored in 2000 and digitised in 2012. The town, a former abbatial capital built around a Benedictine abbey, preserves other works by the sculptor, including the Swooning of the Virgin in the church of Saint-Michel: a veritable "Ligier Richier trail" links his masterpieces across the Meuse.

Getting there : Rue du Général Audéoud, in the centre of Saint-Mihiel; free admission, parking nearby; the Sepulchre occupies a chapel of the church of Saint-Étienne

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound