Rudolph Edward Torrini
| Rudolph Edward Torrini | |
|---|---|
| Born |
March 31, 1923 St.Louis, Missouri |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | BFA, Washington University 1949; Fulbright Scholar, Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze 1949; MFA, University of Notre Dame 1958 |
| Known for | Sculpture, Wood Carving, Drawing |
| Notable work | Italian Immigrants, Martin Luther King, Union Soldier |
Rudolph Edward Torrini (born March 31, 1923) is an American artist most known for his sculptures, wood carvings and bronze public monuments in the St. Louis area, including "The Immigrants", "The Union Soldier," and "Martin Luther King." A student of Croatian sculptor Ivan Mestrovic, his work is also influenced by the works of Auguste Rodin. Torrini trained and taught Bob Cassilly, founder of the City Museum in St. Louis, and also helped establish the Master of Fine Arts program in Fontbonne College.
Rudolph Torrini was born in St. Louis the son of Stella DiPalma, a pianist in silent movie houses, and Cherinto Torrini, a plaster mold-maker from Garfagnana, Tuscany. After the death of his father, he became a jazz saxophone performer in his teenage years to support his family, then enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1942, serving as a clarinetist on the ship's band of the transport ship U.S.S. West Point.
Torrini had begun drawing during the war, and afterwards earned a BFA at Washington University, then was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to study for a year at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze in Florence, Italy in 1949. Afterwards, he earned his MFA at the University of Notre Dame, where he studied under Ivan Mestrovic. He went on to teach first at Webster College (now Webster University) for 17 years, then chaired the Art Department at Fontbonne College for 35 years.
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