Ignaz Günther
Ignaz Günther (22 November 1725 – 27 June 1775) 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.