BPER Bank Gallery, a healthy and growing collection

A very healthy collection with many strengths and some elements that will need attention: this is, summarized to the bone, the analysis of BPER Banca ’s art collection eexecuted by the specialists of Open Care, the only company in Italy (it is based in Milan) that offers integrated services for the conservation, management and enhancement of artworks and art collections (Art Collection Management), using its own professionals as well as a network of consultants for expertise, asset valuations and assistance in buying and selling.

BPER Bank’s collection, strong with almost a thousand works, is now established as one of the main corporate collections in the country and bases its mission on a few cornerstones: valorization, conservation, fruition, closeness to territories and people. A heritage that since 2017 has been open to the public and can be visited at the headquarters of “The Gallery. Collezione e Archivio Storico,” the museum set up in the bank’s headquarters at Via Scudari 9 in Modena, a few steps from the cathedral.

The Open Care Study.

In 2021, in collaboration with Open Care specialists, an in-depth audit, analysis and evaluation of BPER Bank’s artistic heritage was conducted, with the concomitant adoption of a management platform, which made it possible to digitize the database of artwork documentation and organize all the information related to them. According to BPER, the work carried out in collaboration with Open Care was a key piece in the evolution and development of the “The Gallery” project, recognized as a subject in possession of all the tools and information to maturely manage one of the most important bank art collections nationwide.

The decision to rely on Open Care’s professionals stems from the variety of collecting nuclei that make up BPER Banca’s artistic heritage, the sum of its numerous past incorporations, including Meliorbanca (2012), Cassa di Risparmio della Provincia dell’Aquila (2013), Banca della Campania (2014), Nuova Cassa di Risparmio di Ferrara (2017), and the UBI Banca business unit (2020). BPER’s is a growing collection, with a focus on Italian pictorial production from the 15th to the 20th century, international openings and some recent forays into the contemporary.

The work done with Open Care scholars included a more operational phase, with site visits at the Milan, Modena, Ferrara, L’Aquila, Avellino and Saluzzo sites, and a phase carried out mainly remotely to process the final data. The evaluation of the collection, from an economic and art-historical point of view, was accompanied by a check regarding the state of conservation, in order to build an accurate and timely mapping of the collection, useful for its future valorization. The evaluation process was carried out under the supervision of the director of Open Care Art Advisory, Lorenzo Bruschi, MRICS expert on 19th-century furniture, sculpture, art objects and works. The conservation review was supervised by Isabella Villafranca Soissons, director of Open Care’s Conservation and Restoration Department. Roeland Kollewjin (MRICS expert, expert in ancient art), Edoardo Gnemmi (expert in Modern and Contemporary Art), Jole Botti (conservator), Chiara Fiorentini (art advisor), and Sara Braga (project manager) also collaborated on the project.

The final report of the reconnaissance returns a “snapshot” of a healthy art collection, whose strengths, but also points of attention, are highlighted. BPER staff’s awareness and in-depth knowledge of the art collection enable them to be able to refine the management of the art collection and improve conservation intervention, study and planning strategies. Overall, the BPER Bank collection has been found to be in a good state of preservation, a fact that attests to attention to the protection of valuable artistic heritage. In addition, interventions are already planned on the works that, to date, have some gaps in this area.

The recognition by Open Care of the historical-artistic importance of some pieces, belonging to the Modena, Ferrara and L’Aquila nuclei in particular, was a confirmation capable of testifying to the importance that BPER Banca and the incorporated banks over the years have always given to the acquisition of works of art, telling what has been the history of art in the different territories in which the Bank operates.

The statements

“The growth path of our corporate collection,” says Sabrina Bianchi, Head of Cultural Heritage at BPER Bank. “leads us today to have an artistic and archival heritage of national significance. The latest admissions have added a considerable number of works of art, including some masterpieces of twentieth-century art, such as canvases by Antonio Ligabue and installations by Paolini and Spalletti for example, and also modern art, such as canvases by Ceruti or Gambara’s Conversion of Saul. These admissions have further increased the size of BPER Banca’s collection, which is already widely known and considered, but they have also given rise to the need to verify and analyze in a punctual and rigorous way the consistencies of the so-called valuable artistic heritage, that is, the works of art that for historical-artistic value have greater relevance. The decision to entrust Open Care with reconnaissance activities was dictated by the company’s comprehensive range of services for art. With the indispensable support of the BPER team that manages the collection, it was possible to carry out surveys of the various collection nuclei in a short time, which made it possible to verify the location and state of conservation of the works, fundamental data for being able to plan the valorization activities of the corporate collection in the coming years. At the same time, we populated the new management platform, a tool that now allows us to have direct and timely control over every piece of data and information related to each individual piece. The result is a clear view of the conservation status and artistic and economic value, confirming the national significance of the collection as a whole and the uniqueness of some highlights.”

“It was an honor for us,” explains Lorenzo Bruschi, “to be able to relate to the works of art in the BPER Banca collection and its many masterpieces. This is a collection that tells of Italian creative genius through the centuries, a visual representation of the taste and inventive ability of artists, allowing us to trace a visual path through the history of art: beginning with 15th-century gold backgrounds such as the majestic work of the Master of Crivellesque polyptychs, passing through the Renaissance and Baroque forms and colors of Carracci, Reni, Tiarini, and Guercino, through the 18th-century landscape views of Giuseppe Zola, the luminous 19th-century Neapolitan, and up to the innovative early 20th-century research witnessed in the paintings of de Chirico, de Pisis, Campigli, and Funi. The works bear witness to the creative vitality of an area that has been able to generate industry, agriculture and crafts at the highest levels, as well as artistic expressions that are indispensable for the development of contemporary international culture.”

“Viewing the works,” explains Isabella Villafranca Soissons, “we realized how much BPER Bank, over the years, has always been attentive to the issue of conservation, supporting various interventions of restoration of the works to ensure their preservation and enjoyment. We often don’t think about how sensitive paintings, and the material of which they are composed, are to environmental factors and therefore in a sense ”alive“; this is why it is important to take care of them periodically. This on-site mapping served to show us the overall collection and take stock of the critical issues found in order to discuss and plan with BPER Bank general conservation strategies for the future, so that we can increasingly enhance the heritage spread throughout the territory.”

The Gallery of BPER Bank

“The Gallery” of BPER Bank was created in 2017 with the aim of enhancing the historical and cultural heritage of the territory, making the art treasures of the Group’s Collection, which includes a thousand works from the 15th to the 20th century, accessible to the public on a rotating basis. Not just a museum, but a place of cultural exchange, to consolidate the relationship that binds BPER Banca to Modena; a sign of continuity with the past and openness to the future. Among the most important exhibitions set up from 2017 to date are: A Casket for Art (2017), Distinguished Guests in the Gallery. Master of the Crivelleschi Polyptychs and Cola dell’Amatrice (2018), Jules Van Biesbroeck. The Soul of Things (2019), The Perspective of the Ephemeral. Antonio Joli and the “scene by angle” (2020), Baroque Correspondences (2021), Elisabetta Sirani. Virtuous woman, heroine painter (2021), Paesi vaghissimi. Giuseppe Zola and landscape painting (2021-22), Modena between 8 and 900. The Belle Époque of Economy (2022).

The Historical Archives is a documentary heritage that collects the memory and testimony of the path taken by BPER Banca and the banks that, over time, have been incorporated into the group. Memory is fundamental to the emergence of a new “corporate cultural responsibility” that combines public and private interest. Study and cataloguing activities have enabled the publication of the following volumes: Le Signorine della Banca Popolare di Modena (2018), I Primi Soci (2019), Ti nasce vicino. From Advertising to Social Media (2020), Today for Tomorrow. A Brief History of Savings (2021).

BPER Bank Gallery, a healthy and growing collection

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