(b Eckernförde, second half of the 16th century; d Eckernförde, before 1642). He is first documented in 1596; by 1605 he was an alderman of the wood-carvers’ guild, retiring from office in 1635. His most representative works are bride-chests, found in numerous German and Danish museum collections. These are more richly decorated than was common at that period, with wide cartouches, framed by elaborate scrollwork, enclosing carvings of animals and mythical creatures. Gudewerdt’s bride-chests often represented a young couple in contemporary dress above a hare blowing a flute, an emblem of fertility; this has caused the artist to be referred to in literature as the Master of the Flute-blowing Hare. He often used as a subject the narrative of the Book of Esther. Also attributed to him has been the decoration of the chancel of the church at Gettorf, in the form of carved panels (dated 1598), which display other biblical narratives.

Part of the Gudewerdt family