SCHWANTHALER, Thomas - b. 1634 Ried im Innkreis, d. 1707 Ried im Innkreis

Austrian sculptor, part of a family of Austrian and Bavarian sculptors, active 17th-19th centuries.

The Schwanthaler family of artists and craftsmen had a workshop in Ried from 1633 to 1838. This dynasty of masons and wood carvers is responsible for a long list of altars and other pieces of sacral artwork that can be found in many Baroque churches all over Upper Austria. The ancestor of the family, Hans Schwabenthaler (c. 1600-1656) is mentioned in the wedding register of the parish of Ried im Innkreis (Upper Austria). He worked in the style of the Munich court sculptors, mainly Hans Degler and Hans Krumper; he brought their style to Ried and passed it on to his son Thomas. Although Thomas Schwanthaler (he had changed his name by 1679) was originally intended for the priesthood, at the age of twenty-two he was obliged to take over his father’s business.

Commissions for Thomas in Zell am Pettenfirst, Atzbach, Ungenach, and Haag were followed by work in Salzburg, Kremmünster, and Lambach, and finally Mondsee monastery, St. Wolfgang am Abersee, and the collegiate church of the Augustinian canons in Reichersbeerg am Inn.