CORDIER, Nicolas
(b. ca. 1567, Saint-Mihiel, d. 1612, Roma)

St Sebastian

1604
Marble, height 199 cm
Santa Maria sopra Minerva, Rome

In a period between the death of Michelangelo and the emergence of Bernini conspicuous for its dearth of sculptural talent, Cordier began to enjoy a considerable reputation among Roman patrons; he produced bland and often facile works for papal families such as the Aldobrandini, Borghese and Barberini. He contributed to a number of major sculptural schemes including the Aldobrandini Chapel, built by Clement VIII in Santa Maria sopra Minerva, where he carved statues of St Sebastian and Charity as well as the imposing recumbent funerary effigies of the Pope's parents, Silvestro Aldobrandini and Lesa Deti (1604-08).