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Constructing Herself: Edita Broglio’s Self-Portrait of 1938

Voros, Judith
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Abstract
The journal Valori Plastici, published in Rome between 1918 and 1921, was a significant contributor to critical debates on the notion of tradition and modernity not only in Italy but also throughout Europe. Historiography overwhelmingly emphasized the magazine's advocates, such as de Chirico, Carrà, and Morandi, often ignoring further members considered less significant. This thesis seeks to identify this gap by focusing on the group's sole resident female artist, Edita Broglio (1886-1977). The co-founder was regarded as the custodian and storyteller of the magazine during her long life, a role that overshadowed her individuality as an artist. Although she was highly appreciated by her contemporaries, her husband's growing influence as a painter soon overshadowed her professional merits. At the Roman Quadriennale in 1939, she exhibited no longer as a prominent artist of Valori Plastici, but under the male pseudonym Rocco Canea. Considering that Edita Broglio's gender always defined her imagery and her career, her self-portrait of 1938 is the subject of present research. Through the careful analysis of the enigmatic Portrait of a Lady with Marquetry Background (1938), I will demonstrate her deliberate and self-conscious strategies of self-expression in a male-dominated and politically complex environment. Guided by feminist and post-feminist analysis and by adopting a critical perspective, I will attempt to correct the dead ends of the existing literature and contextualize Edita's experience as a practicing woman artist. The formal invention embedded in the painting, the circumstances of the exhibition at the III Roman Quadriennale and the use of the male pseudonym will further nuance the story of an artistic exploration of identity that purposefully critiques and subverts pervasive and traditional authorities and institutions in Interwar Italy.
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Master of Arts in Art History -- John Cabot University, Spring 2022.
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2022
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Edita Walterowna Broglio, 1886-1977
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Voros, Judith. "Constructing Herself: Edita Broglio’s Self-Portrait of 1938". Master's Thesis, John Cabot University, Rome, Italy. 2022.
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