_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. [Illustration: THE RAILING OF LIGIER RICHIER’S “SEPULCHRE”] Ligier Richier Numerous legends surround the life of the “Master of St. Mihiel.” The only son of Jean Richier, a master-sculptor, he was born at St. Mihiel about 1500. Brought up as a Catholic, he was converted to Calvinism about 1560. There is a legend that Michael Angelo came to St. Mihiel, admired the work of the boy Ligier Richier, and took him to Rome; but it is known that Michael Angelo never visited Lorraine. Ligier Richier, not being able to carry out his commissions single-handed, gathered around him apprentices and companions, who have been called his brothers. It is true that he had a son (Gerald) in 1534, and that the latter worked in his father’s studio, and had in his turn five sons, also sculptors, who settled in Nancy, Metz, Lyons and Grenoble. In 1764, in consequence of the persecution of the Protestants, he settled in Geneva, where he died about 1567. Numerous groups of sacred figures, scattered over this district, attest the happy skill of Ligier Richier: a =reredos= of many-coloured stone in the church at Hattonchâtel (p. 38); =Christ Crucified= between the Virgin and St. John, in the church at Génicourt, on the road from Verdun to St. Mihiel; =Group of Notre Dame-de-Pitié=, in the Sacré-Cœur Chapel of the church at Etain; a =Calvary= (six statues of wood variously coloured) in the chapel of the new cemetery at Briey; a large =Christ carrying the Cross= in the Chapel of Notre-Dame-de-Pitié in the Church of St. Laurent, at Pont-à-Mousson (p. 92); and lastly, in St. Mihiel itself, two of his masterpieces: “=The Swooning Virgin=,” in the church of St. Mihiel (p. 67) and the important group, “=The Sepulchre=” in the Church of St. Etienne (p. 56). [Illustration: ST. ETIENNE’S CHURCH _Renaissance Bas-relief in St. Joseph’s Chapel._] [Illustration: ST. ETIENNE’S CHURCH _Renaissance Reredos in the Choir._] [Illustration: ST. MIHIEL. LIGIER RICHIER SQUARE] _After visiting the Church of St. Etienne take on the right the Rue de l’Eglise, at No. 3, of which there is_ a curious old house. _Follow the continuation of the Rue de l’Eglise (Rue du Général Audéoud), which leads to the_ =Place Ligier Richier.= The statue of Ligier Richier used to stand in the centre of this Place. It was removed by the Germans during the occupation. [Illustration: ST. MIHIEL TOWN HALL]