Pier Maria Bardi: the husband overshadowed by Lina Bo Bardi's fame

Pietro Maria Bardi (1900-1999) was an Italian art critic, gallerist, and museum founder whose legacy is often eclipsed by that of his wife, architect Lina Bo Bardi. Born in La Spezia, he began his career at age 20 writing for Gazzetta di Genova and later Corriere della Sera. In 1924 he opened Galleria dell'Esame in Milan, and in 1929 founded the magazine Il Belvedere. Appointed director of Galleria di Rome in 1929, he created the controversial collage "La Tavola degli Orrori" in 1931, targeting architects Marcello Piacentini, Armando Brasini, and Cesare Bazzani, which led to the dissolution of the MIAR. Despite fascist ties, he founded the cosmopolitan magazine Quadrante in 1933 with Massimo Bontempelli, featuring contributions from Le Corbusier and Gropius. In 1933 he organized the exhibition Architettura Italiana d'oggi in Buenos Aires. In 1944 he founded Studio Palma in Rome. After WWII, he moved to Brazil in 1946 with Lina Bo Bardi. There he met magnate Francisco de Assis Chateaubriand, who commissioned him to create Brazil's first art museum. Bardi amassed masterpieces by Goya, Raphael, Titian, Van Gogh, Cézanne, Modigliani, Picasso, Degas, and Gauguin, leading to the opening of MASP in 1947. He served as its director until 1990.