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“Quand on lui donne la forme d’un corps, la pierre paraît changer de nature. Ce n’est pas seulement parce que la voilà faite membres et visage : on oublie cette métamorphose pour s’abandonner devant elle à une présence dont le saisissement excède le pouvoir de représentation. Il y a, qui nous arrêtent soudain, un mystère et une rencontre, celle-ci indissociable de celui-là pour la raison qu’elle en projette l’obscure fascination en même temps qu’elle y puise une part de son attrait. Bien sûr, on pourrait s’en tenir à la reconnaissance des figures - et sans doute le fait-on dans un premier regard - tant qu’on observe leur ensemble, mais il en va des statues comme des humains : tout change dès que l’on passe de l’attitude à l’expression et de la fonction à la relation.” Bernard Noël
SCULPTEUR DE LA RENAISSANCE
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Bar-le Duc 4815 - pm/conseil 03 83 32 72 61 Photos : Michel PETIT
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LIGIER RICHIER Ligier Richier, le plus grand artiste lorrain de la Renaissance, est né vers 1500 à Saint-Mihiel, dans le milieu actif et ouvert de l’élite artisanale. L’on ne sait rien des années de formation du jeune sculpteur, mais comment n’aurait-il pas bénéficié de la riche tradition des “imagiers” de la région, des courants d’influences champenoises, bourguignonnes, flamandes, rhénanes qui se croisaient au bord de la Meuse, du climat de renouveau humaniste qui animait la capitale du Barrois “non mouvant” ? Dès 1530, protégé par le duc Antoine de Lorraine, il est présent
sur d’importants chantiers princiers. Ligier Richier travaille le bois, mais surtout la pierre calcaire tendre au grain fin, clair, aux veines rares, exploitée à Saint-Mihiel et à Sorcy. Il expérimente des techniques raffinées de polissage, par lesquelles il parvient à donner à la pierre l’apparence du marbre. Son génie novateur ne manque pas non plus de se nourrir du style et de l’iconographie propagés par les gravures de Dürer et de Mantegna, peut-être aussi par la peinture et le vitrail. Converti à la Réforme, Ligier Richier finit ses jours à Genève, la cité de Calvin,
en 1566 ou 1567. Après lui, ses fils et neveux maintinrent la réputation de son atelier. Les œuvres de Ligier Richier qui nous sont parvenues sont toutes d’inspiration religieuse ou funéraire. Le caractère traditionnel des sujets - la Passion du Christ y occupe une place prédominante - ne doit pas faire oublier l’originalité des grandes dramaturgies du maître lorrain, la hauteur de sa méditation. Elles le rendirent fameux de son vivant déjà, et jusqu’à nos jours frappèrent poètes et voyageurs.
Ligier Richier, the greatest Renaissance artist from Lorraine, was born around 1500 at SaintMihiel, into the dynamic, accessible milieu of elite craftsmen. Nothing is known about this young sculptor during the years while he was training, but he must have benefited from the rich tradition of the popular painters, printmakers and sculptors in the area. Other influences undoubtedly included those from the regions of Champagne, Burgundy, Flanders, and the Rhine, all of which combined in the Meuse area, and the humanist climate of renewal which animated the “stagnant” capital of Barrois. From
1530, under the protection of Duke Antoine of Lorraine, he worked on important princely sites. Ligier Richier worked in wood, but more especially in pale, soft limestone, with its fine grain and rare veining, exploited at Saint-Mihiel and Sorcy. He experimented with refined techniques of polishing, through which he gave the stone the appearance of marble. His innovative genius also took inspiration from the style and iconography popularised by Dürer’s and Mantegna’s engravings, and perhaps also by painting and stained glass windows. Converted at the Reformation, Ligier Richier ended his days in Geneva, the city
of Calvin, in 1566 or 1567. After him, his son and nephews maintained the reputation of his workshop. Those of Ligier Richier’s works which have come down to us all have a religious or funeral inspiration. The traditional character of his works – the Passion of Christ predominates – should not make us forget the originality of the great dramatic art of the master from Lorraine, nor the heights of his thinking. They already made him famous during his lifetime, and have influenced poets and travellers up to the present day.
Ligier Richier, der größte Renaissance-Künstler Lothringens, wurde um 1500 in SaintMihiel in eine aktive und weltoffene Künstlerelite hineingeboren. Man weiß nichts über die Lehrjahre des jungen Bildhauers, aber wie sollte er nicht profitieren von der reichen Tradition der Maler und Bildhauer in der Region, von den Einflüssen aus der Champagne, aus Burgund, Flandern und dem Rheinland, die am Ufer der Meuse zusammentreffen, vom Klima der humanistischen Erneuerung, das die „freie“ BarHauptstadt erfüllte? Schon 1530 nimmt er dank der Protektion von Herzog
Antoine von Lothringen an bedeutenden fürstlichen Bauvorhaben teil. Ligier Richier bearbeitet Holz und hauptsächlich weichen, feinkörnigen Kalkstein von heller Farbe mit wenig Äderung, wie er in Saint-Mihiel und Sorcy abgebaut wird. Er experimentiert mit raffinierten Poliertechniken, die den Stein wie Marmor aussehen lassen. Sein innovatives Genie nährt sich außerdem am Stil und der Ikonographie der Stiche von Dürer und Mantegna, möglicherweise auch an Malerei und Glaskunst. Ligier Richier konvertiert zum Protestantismus, und sein Leben findet 1566 oder 1567 in Genf, der Stadt
Calvins, sein Ende. Nach ihm erhalten seine Söhne und Neffen den Ruf seiner Werkstatt aufrecht. Die Werke von Ligier Richier, die uns erhalten sind, haben alle Religion oder Tod zum Thema. Über dem traditionellen Charakter der Themen – die Passion Christi nimmt einen wesentlichen Platz ein – darf man allerdings nicht die inszenatorische Originalität dieses Lothringer Meisters und seine hoch entwickelte Spiritualität übersehen. Sie machten ihn bereits zu Lebzeiten berühmt und erstaunen Dichter und Besucher bis in die heutige Zeit.
Ligier Richier, de grootste Renaissance-kunstenaar van de Lorraine, wordt rond 1500 geboren in Saint-Mihiel in het actieve en open milieu van de artisanale elite. Er is niets bekend over de opleidingsjaren van de jonge beeldhouwer, maar het kan niet anders dan dat hij veel heeft geleerd van de rijke traditie van de “imagiers” van de streek, van de stromingen met invloeden uit de Champagne, Bourguignon, Vlaanderen en het Rijngebied die mekaar kruisten aan de oevers van de Maas, en ook van het klimaat van humanisische vernieuwing dat de hoofdstad van de “onbeweeglijke” Barrois animeerde. Vanaf 1530, onder bescher-
ming van hertog Antoine de Lorraine, is hij aanwezig op belangrijke prinselijke werkplaatsen. Ligier Richier bewerkt hout, maar voornamelijk zachte kalksteen met een fijne korrel, een heldere en bijzonder geaderde steen die wordt gewonnen in Saint-Mihiel en Sorcy. Hij experimenteert met verfijnde polijsttechnieken waardoor hij erin slaagt de steen er te laten uitzien als marmer. Zijn vernieuwende genie voedt zich ook met de stijl en de iconografie die worden uitgedragen door de gravures van Dürer en Mantegna, en misschien ook wel met de schilderkunst en de glasraamkunst. Ligier Richier bekeert zich tot het Reformisme en sterft in 1566 of 1567 in
Genève, de stad van Calvijn. Na hem houden zijn zonen en neven de reputatie van zijn atelier hoog. Alle kunstwerken van Ligier Richier die we kennen zijn geïnspireerd op godsdienst of begrafenissen. Het traditionele karakter van de onderwerpen – de Passie van Christus speelt een overheersnde rol – mag de originaliteit niet doen vergeten van de grote dramaturgieën van deze meester uit de Lorraine, noch de omvang van zijn meditatie. Al tijdens zijn leven leveren zijn kunstwerken hem bekendheid op en ook vandaag nog beroeren ze dichters en reizigers.
Description des œuvres pages 1-6
Description of the works Pages 7-12
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Beschreibung der Werke Seiten 13-18
Beschrijving van de werken op pagina 19-24
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Le promeneur de la Route Ligier Richier urra prolonger son itinéraire vers Briey (Meurthe-etMoselle) pour voir le Calvaire à six personnages, dans l’église paroissiale Saint-Gengoult. A Nancy (Meurthe-et-Moselle), il ne manquera pas d’admirer, dans la chapelle des Cordeliers (Musée historique lorrain), l’extraordinaire Gisant de Philippe de Gueldre. Le Musée du Louvre à Paris conserve des fragments du décor de la chapelle des Princes.
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When following the Ligier Richier Route, you can continue the journey to Briey (in the Meurtheet-Moselle département), to see the calvary at the Saint-Gengoult parish church, with its six figures. At Nancy (Meurthe-et-Moselle), you cannot fail to admire the extraordinary Gisant de Philippe de Gueldre (recumbent statue of Philippe de Gueldre), in the Chapelle des Cordeliers (the Lorraine Historical Museum). The Louvre Museum in Paris preserves some fragments of the decor of the Chapelle des Princes (Princes’ chapel).
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Der Wanderer auf der Route Ligier Richier kann seinen Weg bis Briey (Meurthe-et-Moselle) fortsetzen und dort in der Pfarrkirche Saint-Gengoult die sechs Personen umfassende Kreuzigungsgruppe besichtigen. In Nancy (Meurthe-et-Moselle) wird er sicherlich in der Franziskaner-Kapelle (Lothringer historisches Museum) die außergewöhnliche Darstellung von Philippa von Geldern im Totenbett bewundern. Im Louvre in Paris befinden sich Dekorfragmente aus der Prinzenkapelle.
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W ie langs de Route Ligier Richier wandelt, kan zijn reisroute nog verlengen richting Briey (Meurthe-et-Moselle) om daar de Calvarie met zes personages te gaan bekijken in de parochiekerk Saint-Gengoult. In Nancy (Meurthe-et-Moselle) is in de ‘chapelle des Cordeliers’ (historisch museum van Lorraine) de bijzondere Gisant van Philippe de Gueldre te bewonderen. Het Louvre in Parijs bewaart fragmenten van het decor van de Prinselijke kapel.
à lire : • Abbé Charles Souhaut, Les Richier et leurs œuvres, Bar-le-Duc, 1883. • Paul Denis, Ligier Richier. L’artiste et son œuvre, Paris-Nancy, 1911. • Marcel Aubert et Michèle Beaulieu, Musée national du Louvre. Description raisonnée des sculptures du Moyen Age, de la Renaissance et des temps modernes, I, Paris, 1950. • Helga D. Hofmann, Die lothringische Skulptur der Spätgothik. Hauptströmungen und Werke (1390-1520), Sarrebruck, 1962. • William H. Forsyth, The Entombment of Christ : French Sculptures of the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1970. • Horst Van Hees, Die lothringische Skulptur des 16. Jahrhundert, Sarrebruck, 1973. • Ligier Richier et la sculpture en Lorraine au XVIe siècle, catalogue d’exposition, Musée de Bar-le-Duc, octobre-décembre 1985, Bar-le-Duc, 1985. • Encyclopédie illustrée de la Lorraine. La vie artistique, sous la direction de René Taveneaux, Nancy, 1987. • Henri Zerner, L’art de la Renaissance en France. L’invention du classicisme, Paris, 1996. • Michel Martin, La Statuaire de la Mise au tombeau du Christ des XVe et XVIe siècles en Europe occidentale, Paris, 1997. • Catherine Bourdieu, Ligier Richier, Paris, 1998.
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et en dernier lieu : Paulette CHONÉ, Bernard NOËL, Jean-Luc TARTARIN,“Ligier Richier” Conseil général de la Meuse/ Éditions Meuse/ Serge DOMINI 2000.
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Paulette CHONÉ, Bernard NOËL, Jean-Luc TARTARIN,“Ligier Richier”, La Mise au tombeau de Saint Mihiel, Conseil général de la Meuse/ Éditions Meuse/ Serge DOMINI 1999.
Cartographie réalisée par ACTUAL – Tél. : 03 25 71 20 20 – www.actual.tm.fr – Reproduction interdite – no d’autorisation 2-55/JMP/12-08
Route Ligier Richier
Les villes-étapes de la Route “Ligier Richier” ont signé une charte de qualité garantissant le meilleur accueil aux visiteurs. L’ouverture des sites est assurée au minimum les week-ends et jours fériés du 1er mai au 30 septembre.
The towns along the Ligier-Richier Route have signed a quality charter guaranteeing the best possible welcome to visitors. The sites will be open at least at weekends and bank holidays from 1st May to 30th September.
Die Städte an der Route Ligier Richier haben eine Qualitätscharta unterzeichnet, die dem Besucher bestmögliche Aufnahme garantiert. Alle Sehenswürdigkeiten sind mindestens am Wochenende und an Feiertagen vom 1. Mai bis 30. September geöffnet.
De steden waar de Route Ligier Richier halt houdt hebben een kwaliteitshandvest ondertekend waarin ze garanderen de bezoekers zo goed mogelijk te onthalen. De opening van de sites wordt minstens verzekerd tijdens de weekends en op feestdagen van 1 mei tot 30 september.
Textes de M. Bernard Noël tirés de l’ouvrage “Ligier Richier” de Paulette CHONÉ, Bernard NOËL et Jean-Luc TARTARIN. Conseil général de la Meuse/ Éditions Meuse/ISBN 2-912645-20-4 Serge DOMINI éditeur Remerciements à ceux qui ont participé à la réalisation du document et particulièrement à Mme Paulette CHONE, Docteur en Histoire de l’Art, auteur des textes. Thanks to those who have helped in producing this document, especially Mme Paulette CHONE, Doctor of History of Art, the author of the text. Unser Dank gilt allen Mitwirkenden an diesem Dokument, vor allem Frau Paulette CHONE, Doktor der Kunstgeschichte als Verfasserin der Texte. Onze dank gaat uit naar al wie heeft meegewerkt aan de verwezenlijking van dit document en in het bijzonder naar mevrouw Paulette CHONE, doctor in de Kunstgeschiedenis en auteur van de teksten.
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LIGIER RICHIER BAR-LE-DUC • Open : - from 01/04 to 15/05 and from 15/09 to 31/10, Friday to Sunday from 2.00pm to 6.00pm - from 15/05 to 15/09, every day 10.30am to 6.30pm. • Out of season : groups only by appointment • Information, guided visits : Office de Tourisme 7, Rue Jeanne d’Arc 55000 BAR-LE-DUC Tel. : +33 (0)329 791 113 Fax : +33 (0)329 792 195 E-mail : barleduc.tourisme@wanadoo.fr
Death as a Skeleton or The fleshless figure Christ crucified between two thieves BAR-LE-DUC Gilles de Trèves, the Dean of Saint-Maxe’s Collegiate Church, invited Ligier Richier to Bar around 1540-1549 to undertake extensive decorative work in the Chapel of the Princes. The work was completed in 1554. Montaigne, who stayed in Bar in 1580, much admired the magnificent architecture and sculpture in polished stone and terra cotta which must have been exquisite at the time, but of which only a few fragments remain. Saint-Maxe’s Collegiate Church was demolished during the French Revolution and what is left of Master Ligier’s work is now in Saint Etienne’s Church.
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“The spectator today, who so frequently hears of people being tortured to death and of death without salvation, can see this Death as a Skeleton as a ghost that may well come back to haunt us, but what symbolism should be attributed to the heart?” Bernard Noël
round 1550, Richier sculpted one of the most famous funerary monuments of the French Renaissance, Death as a Skeleton, whose fascinating power one can still sense today. The Skeleton is a Memorial to the heart of René de Chalon, Duke Antoine of Lorraine’s brother-in-law. It was sculpted in a deeply moving, radically new way. The symbols he used break with all the earlier horrifying and obscene medieval imagesof
The contrasting figures of the two thieves symbolise peaceful and tormented souls.
Death. This figure is resolute and heroic, its right arm holding a shield and the other hand resting on the heart of the decaying human carcass which stands proudly, its hope clearly coming from Heaven. Prior to Ligier Richier, many of Lorraine sculptors’ workshops had already produced versions of the bloodier aspects of Christ’s Passion, a popular religious theme in Lorraine at the time. In most parish churches, a Christ on the Cross was mounted on a horizontal transom, called the poutre de gloire (glorious beam), running from springer to springer across the main arch in the choir. The group comprising this Calvary, dominated by the Cross, consists of several figures, the two thieves on their gallows, Saint John and the Virgin, Mary Magdalene in tears. The original site of this Christ crucified between two thieves, now in Saint Etienne’s Church in Bar, is not known. It is a work from Ligier’s mature years judging by the skill he shows and the very accurate anatomical details.
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LIGIER The Holy Woman RICHIER in a Peasant’s Bonnet CLERMONT-EN-ARGONNE • Open 1 May to 30 September week-ends and public holidays only from 2 pm to 7 pm and on request on weekdays • Information, guided visits : Office de Tourisme 6, Place de la République 55120 CLERMONT-EN-ARGONNE Tel. : +33 (0)329 884 222 Fax : +33 (0)329 884 243 E-mail : tourisme.argonne@wanadoo.fr
CLERMONT-EN-ARGONNE Coming perhaps from a convent in Verdun, this stone statue has been placed in a mixed group of six statues in a more recent polychromy of varying quality and dating from different periods. This Holy Sepulchre was for many years in Saint Anne’s Chapel in Clermont Castle until it was moved to Saint Didier’s Parish Church where it has since been restored. The outstanding recumbent figure of Christ is pre-16th century and the two kneeling angels in wood are 17th century. The Holy Woman in a Peasant’s Bonnet is clearly superior to the other figures in the quality of its execution and in its significantly more expressive plasticity.
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“In front of her, standing on her own, one is in an imaginary world.” Bernard Noël
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t is doubtless the remaining statue from an Entombment. At first glance she is remarkable for her naive and popular look and her dumpy humble appearance, the somewhat rigid way she holds her hands.... At first glance these characteristics suggest the work is not by Richier. But one should look more closely at the sophisticated details of her dress and the natural ease with which the artist has sculpted her tucker and bonnet, the
fall of her coat and dress, following the movement of her body. In spite of the unusual treatment of her cheeks and eye sockets, the expression on her face is full of subtle emotion hovering between sadness and fear. One should remember that Richier never work alone but ran a workshop where he allocated the work and which doubtless employed a number of talented artists strongly influenced by the master sculptor’s personality.
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LIGIER RICHIER ETAIN • Open : - from 01/04 to 30/09, Monday to Saturday from 9.00am to 12 noon and from 1.30pm to 5.30pm - from 01/10 to 30/03, Monday to Friday from 1.30pm to 5.30pm. • Information, guided visits : Office de Tourisme 31, Rue Raymond Poincaré 55400 ETAIN Tel./Fax : +33 (0)329 872 080 E-mail : otsi.etain@gmail.com http://www.tourisme-etain.fr
“The way in which Christ’s head nestles against Mary’s shoulder suggests He is incredible tired, resting after some immense effort, rather than a corpse.” Bernard Noël
Pietà
(The Virgin Mary mourning the body of Christ) ÉTAIN While there is no disagreement over the attribution of the Pietà in the Etain Parish Church to Ligier Richier, the date it was sculpted raises a problem. The base of the sculpture, with the year 1528, is modern, and the work was previously in a chapel in the cemetery above the tomb of Gilberte Marque, her epitaph stating that she died on 6 March 1525 and that her husband, Jacquemin Quiolt had the monument, “this image”, “this devotion”, raised in 1528.
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hile some specialists see this as one of the sculptor’s first known works, others place it much later, from the same period as the Entombment in Saint-Mihiel, sculpted between 1550 and 1560. Christ’s sagging body, his arm hanging free and the Virgin Mary’s bent, compressed pose is reminiscent of that in the third panel of the Hattonchâtel Retable. The sense that all is lost, the absence of grandiloquence, the Virgin’s oppressed look, suggesting submission, she has been likened to a “Lorraine peasant woman”, suggests that this Pietà dates
rather from Richier’s popular phase best illustrated by The Calvary in Briey (circa 1530), even though the plasticity of The Entombment is relatively advanced. These characteristics suggest that the work is early rather than late. However, this does not stop us from admiring the degree of classicism in the gentle contrast between the profiles and the elegant softness of the folds in the drapery for example. This is a different composition from that usually used showing Christ in his Mother’s lap. Here Christ is supported on Mary’s legs. This rare though not exceptional pose no longer uses the earlier iconography so beautifully illustrated by the work in Notre-Dame-dePitié in Lorraine, but has already incorporated other more sophisticated approaches to the Deposition from the Cross and the Lamentation.
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The Virgin, LIGIER RICHIER or The Lady of Génicourt GENICOURT-SUR-MEUSE • Open 1 May to 30 September on request Out of season : open on request • Information, guided visits : Mairie Tel. : +33 (0)329 877 501 E-mail : genicourt.mairie@wanadoo.fr
GÉNICOURT-SUR-MEUSE Everything in the beautiful church in Génicourt-sur-Meuse, the architecture, the furnishings, the stained glass, and the painted decor... give a very accurate idea of a rich parish chuch at the time of Ligier Richier. For many years considered to be a work by the young Richier, the Génicourt Calvary is now attributed to a “Master of Génicourt”, probably close to Richier, a sculptor of his generation and possibly familiar with the work of his workshop, but with lesser skills and aesthetic mastery.
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“The Lady of Génicourt does not play a role defined by convention. She is just an ordinary woman who is deeply distressed.” Bernard Noël
n the other hand it may have been produced by a workshop frequented by the young Richier during his training in the early 1520s. The church, built and richly decorated on the initiative of the Lords of Génicourt, was an impressive building at the time. One admires in particular the retable behind the main altar and the Saint Nicolas retable, the stained glass work and murals. The Génicourt Calvary is in polychrome wood like those in Bar and Briey, interesting in spite of its awkwardness, the rigidity of the shapes, the dull almost flattened look on the faces... But it is perhaps more significant to note the sense of tension and pathos, the way in which the Virgin’s tapering fingers are intertwined making them as expressive as Her face ; this is no longer popular art. Her mouth suggests a gentle movement similar to that to be seen in the Holy Woman in Clermont-en-Argonne and Mary Magdalene in Briey. The Virgin’s robe hangs with a delicate fluidity. Nevertheless the sculptor has not yet attained the highpoints that Ligier Richier would achieve in his maturity.
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The Retable LIGIER RICHIER of our Lord’s Passion HATTONCHÂTEL • Open 1 May to 30 September every day from 10 am to 7 pm Out of season : open week-ends and public holidays from 10 am to 7 pm • Information, guided visits : - July and August : Friday, Saturday and Sunday 10.00am to noon and 2.00pm to 6.00pm : Musée Louise Cottin 55210 HATTONCHÂTEL - From 1 October to 30 March : Town Hall - BP 36 55210 VIGNEULLES-LESHATTONCHÂTEL Tel. : +33 (0)329 893 073 Fax : +33 (0)329 900 106 E-mail : mairie.vigneulles55@hotmail.com
HATTONCHÂTEL There has been considerable discussion as to whether Ligier Richier himself produced the Hattonchâtel Retable, one of the most refined Renaissance works in Lorraine, but his influence is beyond doubt. The date, LAN 1000 500 23, and a verse from the First Epistle to Saint Peter, are carved in fine Roman capitals on the base of the pilasters framing and separating the three panels forming the Retable. A shield bears the donor’s coat of arms and his initials, G.R. for Gaucher Richeret, Dean of the Chapter of Hattonchâtel. Richeret is shown in the third panel, kneeling at the feet of Saint Maur, Bishop of Verdun.
Surprise mixed with elegant respect Saint Veronica holds out the handkerchief in which she has just seen the Face of Jesus. The anguished Face of Christ framed by long locks of hair and the diagonal line of the Cross are a faithful copy of a print by Dürer (1509).
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he Retable consists of three scenes from Christ’s Passion, Christ bearing the Cross, the Crucifixion, and the Lamentation. The clearly Italianate architectural frame, recalling the Duke René’s Tomb in Nancy, finished around 1510, has pilasters with candelabra, scrolled capitals, ornamental foliage and bucrania, details that had been become part of Lorraine art by that time. To these should be added the individual techniques used by the sculptor, the architect and
the stonemasons. The central part of the retable, with its tympanum in the form of a large shell, houses Christ on the Cross under a surbased decorated arch. The central shield bears the Duke of Lorraine’s arms; he often stayed in Hattonchâtel and may have remarked the sculptor’s talent. A number of superb details are of particular interest, such as the vertical hang of Saint Veronica’ coat, the look of curiosity and bewilderment on the face of the Saint as she leans forward. The central panel presents several scenes ambitiously organised in three or four planes: the sculptor deliberately chose a complex approach with the juxtaposition of clothed and naked bodies, of people and animals, the foreshortening of the whinnying horse, preparing to bite.
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The Entombment The Virgin Swooning
LIGIER RICHIER SAINT-MIHIEL • Open every day throughout the year from 10 am to 6 pm In winter, closes at dusk. • Information, guided visits : Office de Tourisme Rue du Palais de Justice 55300 SAINT-MIHIEL Tel./Fax : +33 (0)329 890 647 E-mail : otsi.saint-mihiel@wanadoo.fr http://www.otsi-saintmihiel.fr
SAINT-MIHIEL Recently restored, The Entombment, also called The Holy Sepulchre, is justly recognised as the summit of 16th century Lorraine sculpture, one of the finest works in the magnificent collection to be found in Saint-Mihiel, and one of Ligier Richier’s major works. He spent around ten years on this group of thirteen, more than life-size figures in fine-grained Meuse limestone before leaving for Geneva in 1564. It was the sculptor’s last work. Magdalene’s farewell, the Virgin Mary swooning supported by Saint John, two soldiers throwing dice for Jesus’ tunic watched by a centurion, an angel
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Figures of women from The Entombment : ardent love, tender solicitude and veneration “He has a beautiful face, smooth, deep in thought, yet luminous. He looks down on Mary, seeing only Her.” Bernard Noël
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ccording to long established tradition, Ligier left the work unfinished. His son Gerard put the final touches and placed The Entombment in the chapel built around 1570 in the wall adjacent to the church’s south side-aisle where it can still be seen today. The Entombment was an incredibly popular subject from the 15th century onwards. In Lorraine alone there are more than forty Entombments sculpted in the round. Ligier Richier treated the event in an elaborate, somewhat learned style presenting several scenes : Joseph of Arimathea transporting the body of Christ with the help of Nicodemus, the preparation of the Tomb, Mary
carrying the Cross while a Holy Woman holds up the Crown of Thorns. We take immense pleasure in the very fine detail without this ever distracting us from the sculpture’s overall emotional impact. The Virgin Swooning in SaintMihiel’s Abbey Church is incredibly realistic in the way it presents Mary’s pain and tension. The group, carved in walnut, has since lost its polychrome finish. It was part of the Calvary of nine figures that was so much admired by a pilgrim from Troyes in 1532.