ignaz günther was a german sculptor and woodcarver working in the bavarian rococo tradition. he was born in altmannstein, germany, 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 dea…