The Sculptor of Neoclassical Grace: The Life of Johann Valentin Sonnenschein In the heart of the Enlightenment, as Europe began to turn its gaze away from the exuberant flourishes of the Rococo toward the disciplined clarity of antiquity, Johann Valentin Sonnenschein emerged as a vital voice in the sculptural landscape. Born in 1749 in Stuttgart, Germany, into a lineage where art was woven into the very fabric of family life, Sonnenschein was destined for the chisel. His father, also a sculptor, provided the initial spark, but it was the rigorous mentorship of Johann Georg Wolffram that woul…