Ignaz Günther (22 November 1725 – 27 June 1775) was a German

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

and woodcarver working in the

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

Rococo Rococo, less commonly Roccoco ( , ; or ), also known as Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and dramatic style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpte ...

tradition. He was born in Altmannstein, where he received his earliest training from his father, then studied in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

under the court sculptor Johann Baptist Straub from 1743 to 1750. His '' Wanderjahre'' took him to Salzburg, Olmütz, Vienna, and Mannheim, where he studied with Paul Egell from 1751 to 1752. Between May and October 1753, he was enrolled in the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts and won the annual students' competition. In 1754, he started his own workshop in

, where he remained until his death in 1775. He is best remembered for his work in churches, especially his altars. A wooden crucifix styled by Günther was given by the official Bavarian civil and ecclesiastical delegation as an 85th birthday gift to

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

, a native of Bavaria, on Monday 16 April 2012.

Major works

* Altmannstein—Church of the Holy Cross (1763–1764) * Aschau im Chiemgau—Gallery of Ancestors in Burg Hohenaschau (two wooden statues) (1766) * Benediktbeuern— Church of St. Benedict (side altars, attributed) * Freising—Neustift Abbey Church (high altar) (1756) * Gmund am Tegernsee—Parish Church of St. Ägidius (gilded wooden relief on north side altar) (1763) * Greisstätt-Altenhohenau—Monastery Church of St. Peter and St. Paul (altars) (1767) *

Ingolstadt Ingolstadt (; Austro-Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian: ) is an Independent city#Germany, independent city on the Danube, in Upper Bavaria, with 142,308 inhabitants (as of 31 December 2023). Around half a million people live in the metropolitan ...

—Minorite Church (Preysing epitaph) (1770) * Mallersdorf— Mallersdorf Abbey (high altar) (1768–1770) *

— Bürgersaalkirche (guardian angels under the organ gallery) (1762) *

—Pieces in the Bavarian National Museum, including his '' Hausmadonna'' for private devotion * München-Harlaching—Pilgrimage Church of St. Anna (altars) (1763&1764) * Nenningen—Cemetery Chapel ( Pietà—last known work of Günther) (1774) * Rott am Inn— Benedictine Abbey Church of St. Marinus and St. Anianus) (high altar, side altars, and figures of the Trinity, Saint Kunigunde, Saint Henry, Saint Corbinian and Saint Ulrich) (1761–1762) * Starnberg— St. Joseph's Church (high altar) (1766–1768) * Weyarn—Catholic Parish Church of St. Peter and St. Paul ( woodcarving on high altar, including

Annunciation The Annunciation (; ; also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of Our Lady, or the Annunciation of the Lord; ) is, according to the Gospel of Luke, the announcement made by the archangel Gabriel to Ma ...

, Pietà, putti, the carved shrine of Saint Valerius, and silver-framed

tabernacle According to the Hebrew Bible, the tabernacle (), also known as the Tent of the Congregation (, also Tent of Meeting), was the portable earthly dwelling of God used by the Israelites from the Exodus until the conquest of Canaan. Moses was instru ...

) (1763–1764)

Notes

Bibliography

* Christiane Hertel, ''Pygmalion in Bavaria: The Sculptor Ignaz Günther and Eighteenth-Century Aesthetic Art Theory'' (University Park, PA, 2011). {{DEFAULTSORT:Gunther, Ignaz 1725 births 1775 deaths 18th-century German sculptors 18th-century German male artists German male sculptors German woodcarvers German Roman Catholics Academy of Fine Arts Vienna alumni Catholic sculptors Catholic decorative artists