Joseph Ernst von Bandel (17 May 1800, Ansbach – 25 September 1876, Neudegg, near Donauwörth) was a German architect, sculptor and painter.

He is best known for his 37 years of work on the monumental Hermannsdenkmal near Detmold, honoring Arminius' victory over Roman troops in 9 AD.

At fourteen, Ernst von Bandel began to take drawing lessons at the Academy of Fine Arts, Nuremberg, with the engraver Albert Christoph Reindel [de].

In 1820, he refused a job offer as an assistant to the architect Leo von Klenze, as he was not amenable to Bandel's preference for the Gothic style.

[2]: 40 In 1822/23, Bandel was at Nuremberg, working on completing the figures on the Gothic Schöner Brunnen While there, he met Karoline von Kohlhagen, whom he married in 1827.

[2]: 41  After his return to Germany, he made the figurine on the gable of the Staatliche Antikensammlungen, following a design by his teacher Johann Nepomuk Haller [de].

[2]: 41 Bandel found himself receiving little support or understanding from the new king, so he moved to Berlin in 1834, following his former employer, Rauch, who was working on a huge equestrian statue of Frederick the Great.

He soon began making his own proposals for a grand national monument,[3] but got little encouragement and less interest, so he moved, this time to Hanover where, with the intercession of architect Ernst Ebeling, King William IV entrusted him with the design of the residential palace.

He also worked on the new auditorium at Georg August University in Göttingen, creating the pediment reliefs and a statue of William IV in front of the building.

[3] In 1838, Bandel again travelled to Italy, meeting Ludwig I en route, who offered financial support to the Hermannsdenkmal, but requested some changes.

[2]: 50, 55 After a great deal of initial support for the project, public interest began to wane and donations decreased dramatically.