Belfius Art Collection

The Belfius Art Collection is a collection of Belgian art owned by the Belfius Bank (and thus as of August 2018 by the Belgian State, owner of Belfius since 2011).

Peter Paul Rubens, 1640, The Rape of the Sabine Virgins

History

The current collection of Belfius Bank is the combination of the collections of three older banks, which are now part of Belfius. Paribas Belgium collected art from the 16th to the 18th century, plus some contemporary (post-WWII) art. The Gemeentekrediet collected Belgian art from 1860 to 1945. BACOB did not start collecting art until 1980, and focused on contemporary Belgian art. Belfius continued collecting art after the fusion of the banks, and the complete collection has grown to more than 4,300 works.[1]

This makes it the largest company-based Belgian art collection, while being considered one of the 100 most important worldwide.[2] The Belgian state took over the bank in 2011, so effectively owns the art collection as well.

Small selections of the collection are open to the public two Saturdays every month. The bank lends works to exhibitions as well.[2]

Future

The plans, as of August 2018, to denationalize Belfius partially or completely by going to a stock exchange with it, have raised concerns about the future of the collection, with calls to separate the art collection from the bank and keep it completely in the hands of the government.[3][4]

Collection
Léon Spilliaert, 1909, Breakwater

The collection is mainly focused on painting and some sculptures, but also contains tapestries, books, and furniture. The below list is based on the works described on the Belfius Art Collection website, and artists and artworks mentioned in other sources.

Notes
  1. "Historiek" (in Dutch). Belfius Art Collection. Retrieved 3 August 2018.
  2. Goffaux, Pascal (28 June 2018). "Les couleurs de Belfius". RTBF (in French). Retrieved 3 August 2018.
  3. "Wat met de Belfius-kunstcollectie na beursgang?". VRTnws. Belga. 15 March 2018. Retrieved 3 August 2018.
  4. "Veranker unieke kunstcollectie Belfius". De Tijd (in Dutch). 27 June 2018. Retrieved 3 August 2018.
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gollark: That would... basically just defeat most of the point of the supply/demand mechanism?
gollark: Well, that seems awful.
gollark: Well, mostly, but as I said they also require you pay taxes in their currency.
gollark: Currency is another good to be traded, but also one governments legally require you use for some things, because governments.
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