(b Ludwigsburg, 1768; d Stuttgart, 1836). German sculptor. He was educated in Stuttgart, where in 1782 he entered the Hohe Karlsschule, founded by Charles-Eugene, Duke of Württemberg for children of the deserving poor. His principal master there was the sculptor Johann Heinrich von Dannecker, himself a product of the same education, which aimed to train those studying the visual arts as artist-craftsmen, who could be employed on embellishing the ducal palaces. In 1795 Distelbarth went to Rome, where he remained until 1799; among his early works executed there was a marble bust of Bacchus (signed and dated, Rome 1795; ex-Shepherd Gal., New York; untraced), which revealed his successful study of both antiquity and the sculpture of contemporary Neo-classicists such as Antonio Canova. In 1796 Distelbarth married an Italian woman; he may have hoped to remain in Rome and follow Canova’s example by attracting patronage for ideal statues from the international tourists. However, the European wars that broke out at the close of the century disturbed the flow of visitors to Rome, and he instead found employment in Paris. For most of the period from 1799 to 1808 he worked as a member of the huge team of foreign artists and artisans that was attracted to Paris by the major projects of Napoleon’s empire. Distelbarth was principally employed as one of the sculptors working on the lengthy restoration of the Louvre. In 1808 Dannecker called him back to Stuttgart, where he spent the rest of his life, first assisting Dannecker and later taking over teaching duties at the Karlsschule. His own artistic production was largely limited to decorative reliefs and garden groups, mostly after others’ designs. One such work was a group of Nymphs (sandstone, 1808–10; ex-Schlossgarten, Stuttgart; untraced), after a model by Dannecker.