Statue of St Gregory the Great

In the summer of 1508 a stonemason in Carrara was blocking out the papal statue for Michelangelo’s Tomb of Julius II. This piece of marble seems to have remained in Michelangelo’s studio, roughed out and abandoned, for the remainder of his life. Eventually. in 1602, it was used by Nicolas Cordier for a statue of St Gregory the Great in San Gregorio Magno (San Gregorio al Celio). It is very doubtful if any of the carving in this figure in its present form is due to Michelangelo.

This works shows Cordier, inspired by Antique and Renaissance prototypes, moving towards a style more harmonious in composition and more expressive in sentiment.