Mario and Edita Broglio: The Dynamics of an Artist Couple in Fascist Italy

Born in Latvia, raised with a cosmopolitan approach, Edita Walterowna Zur Muehlen (1886–1977) met the painter Mario Broglio (1891–1948) in Rome in 1917. From that time on, they became one of the most interesting Italian artist couples of the twentieth century. They founded Valori Plastici (1918–1922), a key magazine for the “Return to Order” culture in Europe. From 1922 until the 1940s, the artistic activity of Edita became overlooked: Mario was invited to the principal Italian exhibitions while Edita had a low profile and used a male alias. Only after Mario died in 1948 did Edita take back her own artistic path. This chapter will reconstruct the dynamics between them during fascism, aiming to highlight the particularities, strengths, weaknesses, and contradictions of the couple’s relationship.