With this show Alexandria it rediscovers itself as the epicenter of artistic and cultural phenomena from the last decades of the eighteenth century to the end of the twentieth century and offers the works of painters and sculptors linked to the territory for having gravitated there culturally or for having been born there. The names of Pellizza, Morbelli, Bistolfi and Carrà alone are enough to indicate a leading role in giving life to the most important and innovative movements on the artistic scene.
The weight of Pellizza da Volpedo and Morbelli in outlining the contours and in marking the syntax of the Divisionism; Bistolfi's contribution to symbolist sculpture, of which he can be defined as the greatest exponent and Carrà's decisive role in the theoretical definition and development of futurism as well as metaphysical painting and at the end of the 20s in the "return to order", or rather the rediscovery of the formal purity typical of the Italian Renaissance, in search of archaic atmospheres and timeless images: we are faced with a sequence of facts through which a happy conjunction is configured that few other provincial cities can boast. Without forgetting Migliara, one of the most refined landscape painters in that season which shortly followed that of the Canaletto and the Bellottos.
In this humus the seeds generously thrown by the older ones germinated, in a season that was in many ways unrepeated. Alongside these leading figures, many artists were born in Alexandria who, in a more circumscribed dimension, have grasped and assimilated the legacy of their masters and leaders. Among these Morando and Caffassi, but above all to Bozzetti whose weight in the history of Italian engraving is perhaps still to be evaluated in all its importance. These are the artists who have represented Alessandria in major exhibitions such as the Venice Biennale or who, like Luigi Onetti, have been able to tell the landscape of Monferrato with styles that are still unmatched today, or like Barabino, who had the strength to receive the exceptional legacy of his master Giuseppe Pellizza. A final selection of works is dedicated to the historic Napoleonic battle of Marengo, where a punctual vision of the battles, the description of the Piedmontese landscape and the heroisms of anonymous soldiers merge.
La Savings Bank Foundation of Alessandria has chosen to privilege these authors in defining the lines of its collection. The acquisition of works by artists linked to the territory was a commitment that made it possible to bring true masterpieces back home, which for the first time are exhibited in a choral manner, with an installation that allows the visitor to see unprecedented reflections, to establish comparisons and suggest cross-references. Wandering among the paintings in this exhibition allows a progressive approach to that not well defined genius loci of which it is time to acquire full awareness.
The exhibition is created and curated by Governor's Palace, an instrumental company of the Cassa di Risparmio di Alessandria Foundation, in collaboration with Civita for reception services and communication. It will make use of a bookshop where editorial products relating to the exhibition and the territory will be on sale, the proceeds of which will be donated in part to the Solidal onlus Foundation; audio guides will also be available for hire and guided tours by reservation, which will also extend to Palatium Vetus.
