Ignaz Günther in the context of European artistic transfer in the Baroque and Rococo period

• Applicant: Dr. Björn Statnik
• Subject Area: Art History
• Term: from 2011 to 2016
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 207260676

Although Ignaz Günther is recognized as one of the most important sculptors of the South German Rococo period, there is still no comprehensive evaluation of this multi-talented and dedicated artist. Up to now, the appraisal of his sculptural accomplishments has been too one-sided and he has been seen solely as a sculptor in the Bavarian tradition. The loss of his treatise on art has been generally lamented.Ignaz Günther will be considered in the context of the European artistic transfer of the 17th and 18th centuries. The question of possible role models beyond the bounds of Bavaria and their influence will be explored, and Ignaz Günther's works as an altar architect will be recorded. In this way, the importance of Paul Egell and Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach for Günther's sculptural work and altar architecture can be demonstrated and also how he absorbed the Roman and French High Baroque through the medium of books. By examining his partially reconstructable library and several surviving letters, which, wenn sources have been evaluated, can offer a certain replacement value for his lost textbook, the extent of his artistic skills and learning can be assessed. His own ideas on art can be understood and his approach to the planning and building of an altar can be illustrated.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants