This comprises a group of thirteen figures, rather more than life size, executed between 1554 and 1564, and placed after Richier’s death in the church, where it stands to-day (photo above).
The figures are arranged as follows: on the left, Salome lays in the coffin, the shroud which is to enwrap Christ, while two disciples, Joseph and Nicodemus, carrying the body of their Divine Master, stand in the foreground. Nicodemus carries the body by the shoulders, while the unsupported head rests against his arm. Joseph of Arimathæa, one knee on the ground, supports the legs of Our Lord. Near him Mary Magdalene helps to carry the feet, which she touches with her lips. In the background the Virgin, leaning on St. John, and Mary, the wife of Cleophas, turn a last look on Christ.
Between Mary, the wife of Cleophas, and Salome, stands an angel bearing the Cross—an unfounded tradition says that this is a portrait of the artist.
On the right of the central group, and next to Nicodemus, a woman, often called Veronica, carries the crown of thorns. Behind her, in the background, two men-at-arms are casting lots for the seamless coat. At the other end, on the right, a Roman officer, often, without justification, called the Centurion, is seated on a shield with a sword in his left hand. He is the captain of the guard in charge of the tomb.
This is a strong, touching work by a French master-sculptor, who had not yet come under Italian influence and methods.
THE RAILING OF LIGIER RICHIER’S “SEPULCHRE”