Christian Ackermann was born in
Königsberg.[2] He worked in
Riga,
Stockholm, and
Gdańsk, before becoming active in
Tallinn from about 1672 until his death in 1710.[3] In 1675, Ackermann moved to Tallinn and worked first in the workshop of Elert Thiele, a local woodcarver. After Thiele's death in 1674, Achermann married the master's widow. He then became a citizen of Tallinn but didn't join the local guild of woodcarvers. And that was a reason why between him and the guild's masters had begun a strong struggle which finished in court. Ackermann won and got the permission to work alone, he was the first independent sculptor in Estonia[4] and acquired his own workshop at
Toompea Hill. He probably died either in 1710 or a short time later from
plague.
Christian Ackermann was one of the greatest masters of the
Baroque style in Estonia. He brought strong Central European influences to Northeast Europe, in particular the motifs of the Baroque and masterful
Acanthus ornaments. The majority of his works consists of almost twenty altarpieces, pulpits and large coat-of-arms
epitaphs.
^"The massive altarpiece for
St Mary's Cathedral was created in the time between the creation of the altarpieces for the churches in
Türi and
St. Martens. On August 18, 1694, sculptor Christian Ackermann received 40 Rdr for his altarpiece, as agreed. Two days later, Ackermann signed an agreement, according to which he would receive 200
Reichsthalers altogether for carpentry and sculpting, and the master had to obtain the wood himself. The work took somewhat longer than expected, and was not ready until 1696." according to S. Karling: Wood carving and carpentry of the Renaissance and the Baroque in Estonia. Tartu 1943, pp. 299-304.