ERHART, German family of sculptors
Michel Erhart, whose rise to the position of leading sculptor of Ulm was rapid, was married to Margarethe, the daughter of the architect Vincenz Ensinger. Two of their sons, Gregor Erhart and Bernhard Erhart (documented 1515–17), followed Michel's craft. Gregor must have trained in his father's workshop. The extent of collaboration and the division of the two sculptors' work in the years before 1494 are matters of dispute; although clear preferences have been expressed, no generally accepted solution has been found. Gregor soon rose to be the leading sculptor of Augsburg. After his marriage in 1496 to Anna Mair, who was from a rich family of linen-weavers, he was able to establish his workshop, which he led until 1531, when he handed it over to his son, Paulus Mair.
