Ignaz Günther
Ignaz Günther was a German sculptor and woodcarver working in the Bavarian Rococo tradition.
He was born in Altmannstein, where he received his earliest training from his father, then studied in Munich 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 Munich, 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, a native of Bavaria, on Monday 16 April 2012.
Major works
- Altmannstein—Church of the Holy Cross
- Aschau im Chiemgau—Gallery of Ancestors in Burg Hohenaschau
- Benediktbeuern—Church of St. Benedict
- Freising—Neustift Abbey Church
- Gmund am Tegernsee—Parish Church of St. Ägidius
- Greisstätt-Altenhohenau—Monastery Church of St. Peter and St. Paul
- Ingolstadt—Minorite Church
- Mallersdorf—Mallersdorf Abbey
- Munich—Bürgersaalkirche
- Munich—Pieces in the Bavarian National Museum, including his Hausmadonna for private devotion
- München-Harlaching—Pilgrimage Church of St. Anna
- Nenningen—Cemetery Chapel
- Rott am Inn—Benedictine Abbey Church of St. Marinus and St. Anianus)
- Starnberg—St. Joseph's Church
- Weyarn—Catholic Parish Church of St. Peter and St. Paul