by Bianca Spaggiari @biancaspaggiari

Buying works of art has always been a delight reserved for the few but admired by many. Whether it is a painting, a statue, a photograph, or a piece of jewelry with a precious provenance, each piece takes on emotional value over time, and buying art therefore becomes a real-life choice, like tying oneself to something for a long time.

Today, collecting masterpieces is a more accessible activity, but it is good to keep a few small tips in mind, keys to choosing carefully.

Before we start advising you as to where you should buy your next painting, here are a few simple rules for every Gou Gou looking for the lightning strike on canvas.

Love what you buy.

Like anything, art is made well if made with love.

Invest in emerging artists if you can but remember that their careers may evolve differently from what you expect. If you really like a piece, re-read the previous sentence and every purchase will be a good investment.

If you don’t love what you see, don’t make hasty choices. Maybe it is not the right work for you. Keep looking carefully.

Inform yourself as much as you can about art. Read books and listen to podcasts, but don’t forget that expertise comes with experience: visit museums and galleries frequently and be inspired by new stimuli.

Don’t trust just anyone: look for reliable sources.

If it is your first purchase, don’t think of it as an investment, but rather think of it as something you will see every day that makes you happy.

Visiting exhibitions and spending countless days in museums remains the most important lesson to learn about art, broaden your aesthetic taste, and understand what you like. Here’s a list to jot down in your to-go list.

Milan’s Modern Art Gallery, known as GAM, is tucked away inside Villa Reale, just a few steps from the unmistakable Porta Venezia district. Inside, 19th-century masterpieces combined with early 20th-century avant-garde ones make it one of Italy’s richest collections of modern art. Works by Antonio Canova, Medardo Rosso, Morandi, Modigliani, and Segantini stand out among foreign masters such as Hayez, Van Gogh, Manet, Picasso, and Matisse.

After visiting the museum, you can relax in the garden and take in its timeless charm. Here, you will find LùBar, a chic and charming venue reminiscent of a small oasis in the heart of Milan.

The Fondazione Prada galleries are the result of the transformation of an early 20th-century distillery. They house precious contemporary works of different colors, origins, and inspirations. A concept born from a direct dialogue and confrontation between Miuccia Prada and art historian Germano Celant, the exhibition rooms are spread over five floors. The space is a collection of temporary exhibitions based on contrasts and similarities between different artists, which add to the sensorial perception of the permanent collection where you can find Upside Down Mushroom Room by Carsten Höller, Tears for Everybody’s Looking at You by Damien Hirst, and Giant Steel Tulips by Jeff Koons. An essential stop for those visiting the Foundation is Bar Luce, designed by Wes Anderson in his signature pastel tones.

The reasons for visiting Pinacoteca di Brera are endless, and all valid. The life of this museum is steeped in history, fascination, and endurance. At the head of the museum during the Second World War was a strong, far-sighted woman: Fernanda Wittgens, who protected throughout the conflict most of the works that are still on display to this day. Best known for housing The Kiss by Hayez, the gallery is undoubtedly teeming with treasures of inestimable artistic and cultural value.

Last but not least is Museo del Novecento. Thanks to the large windows overlooking Piazza Duomo, every room is flooded with natural light, and reflections illuminate the immaculate canvases by Jannis Kounellis, Mondrian, Boccioni, and Fontana, to name but a few.

Art galleries are the most authentic and traditional way to acquire artworks. From the most iconic and renowned to the lesser known and innovative, Milan offers a wide choice to accommodate tastes, needs, and above all desires.

An unusual art gallery, Camilla Prini’s Salotto welcomes you to an intimate environment where you can relax and calmly admire the canvases around you. Camilla likes to define the space as a contemporary gallery with a domestic flavor. The gallery program includes mainly figurative artists and photographers, and besides being carefully researched and selected, the events (such as vernissages) offer a very intimate chance for useful conversations and connections within the space.

Glauco Cavaciuti is the place where contemporary artist Pietro Terzini meets the works of artists such as Carla Accardi, Boero, and Boetti, and we find it incredible.

Cardi Gallery, originally called ‘Galleria Cardi’, was founded in Milan in April 1972 by art collector Renato Cardi. Today, the gallery presents a program of museum-quality exhibitions, each accompanied by an academic catalog or a monograph of the artist.

Among the others, we highly recommend Nilufar, renowned for its design exhibitions, Massimo de Carlo, a true institution, Cadogan, a temple of tranquillity, Deodato, eclectic and young, and Wunderkammern Gallery, irrefutably prestigious.

If you decide to sell part of your collection, consult the person who initially sold it to you for advice. Alternatively, turn to auction houses. Most of them have an in-house valuation department that will be ready to help you.

Christie’s and Sotheby’s are two of the world’s most prestigious auction houses, both founded in London and branched out globally. Entering them is like entering an enchanted world where the greatest names in art history meet.

With a long history in the world of art and antiques, Cambi has a well-established reputation for its professionalism, the wide range of categories of art objects on offer, and the management of top-class auctions.

Unlike Cambi, Il Ponte has established itself by specializing in modern and contemporary art. Today, it is renowned for its focus on the quality of the works on offer and its ability to attract works by prominent artists.

A late bloomer compared to the aforementioned two other historic places. Every Wannenes auction is a small exhibition: well curated and ready to capture everyone’s attention with unique pieces.

So, let’s say it: art for art’s sake! Hoping to have awakened your insatiable collector’s appetite, we wish you a good research with a magnifying glass in hand.