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Enchanted by a brief spell

MARCO RICCÒMINI E FRANCESCO MICHELI

The world of art has always fascinated connoisseurs, collectors, experts and amateurs. But it is not only galleries, paintings and museums that capture our attention: art has a value and can be sold and bought. But how does it really work? How does one become a collector and what parameters and information should be taken into account before making an offer? Moving in such a sector is neither easy nor obvious, especially for those who do it with enthusiasm but without adequate preparation. These and other topics were addressed at our Milan office on 27 October 2021 when we presented the book Un breve incanto. Dizionario semiserio del mercato dell’arte. The book has been skillfully written by Marco Riccòmini (La nave di Teseo +, Milano 2021, euro 20.00, pages 308), with the participation of Francesco Micheli, refined collector and leading figure of the first season of the Finarte auction house in Milan founded by Marco Manusardi, of which he was President and Managing Director, and Luca Melegati Strada, Director of Wannenes Milano and head of the Ceramics and Glasses Department. Browsing through this sort of handbook, the author has selected 70 key words that reveal the mysteries and background of the art market through the jargon – often unintelligible – of insiders, lightly explaining the meaning of acronyms and technical terms, and describing in a dry yet incisive style how and when to use colloquial terms that seem to come from a sort of slang for initiates, where mastery of the lexicon is part of the enchantment. This artistic mini-dictionary is an ironic and irreverent passe-partout to enter an enigmatic, voluptuous and sometimes ruthless world.