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 (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

Rococo Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...

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

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

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 Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the soverei ...

, 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 Freising () is a university town in Bavaria, Germany, and the capital of the Freising ''Landkreis'' (district), with a population of about 50,000. Location Freising is the oldest town between Regensburg and Bolzano, and is located on the ...

—Neustift Abbey Church (high altar) (1756) *

Gmund am Tegernsee Gmund am Tegernsee is a municipality in the district of Miesbach in Bavaria in Germany. The town is located on the north shore of the Tegernsee Lake, and near the source of River Mangfall. It is from Munich and from the district capital, the ...

—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: ) is an independent city on the Danube in Upper Bavaria with 139,553 inhabitants (as of June 30, 2022). Around half a million people live in the metropolitan area. Ingolstadt is the second largest city in Upper Ba ...

—Minorite Church (Preysing

epitaph An epitaph (; ) is a short text honoring a deceased person. Strictly speaking, it refers to text that is inscribed on a tombstone or plaque, but it may also be used in a figurative sense. Some epitaphs are specified by the person themselves be ...

) (1770) * Mallersdorf— Mallersdorf Abbey (high altar) (1768–1770) *

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

—Pieces in the

Bavarian National Museum The Bavarian National Museum (german: Bayerisches Nationalmuseum, links=no) in Munich is one of the most important museums of decorative arts in Europe and one of the list of largest art museums in the world , largest art museums in Germany. ...

, including his '' Hausmadonna'' for private devotion * München-Harlaching—Pilgrimage Church of St. Anna (altars) (1763&1764) * Nenningen—Cemetery Chapel (

Pietà The Pietà (; meaning " pity", "compassion") is a subject in Christian art depicting the Virgin Mary cradling the dead body of Jesus after his body was removed from the cross. It is most often found in sculpture. The Pietà is a specific form ...

—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 The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God th ...

, Saint Kunigunde, Saint Henry, Saint Corbinian and Saint Ulrich) (1761–1762) * Starnberg— St. Joseph's Church (high altar) (1766–1768) *

Weyarn Weyarn is a municipality in the district of Miesbach in Bavaria in Germany. It dates back to a monastery that was founded by Siboto II, count of Falkenstein in 1133. It is located 38 km southeast of Munich and can be easily reached on hig ...

—Catholic Parish Church of St. Peter and St. Paul ( woodcarving on high altar, including Annunciation,

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

tabernacle According to the Hebrew Bible, the tabernacle ( he, מִשְׁכַּן, mīškān, residence, dwelling place), also known as the Tent of the Congregation ( he, link=no, אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד, ’ōhel mō‘ēḏ, also Tent of Meeting, etc.), ...

) (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 Burials in Germany Academy of Fine Arts Vienna alumni Catholic sculptors Catholic decorative artists