A Conservation Tour

	Lot's Wife, 1989: When An Artist Uses Unconventional Materials
	Anselm Kiefer used a variety of unconventional materials-sheet lead, salt and burnt canvas covered with spackling compound-to produce this powerful image. This combination of materials results in small losses and changes to the painting over time. This deterioration is part of Kiefer's aesthetic intent.

Male Torso, 1917: Using Conservation to Respect Artistic Intention

Constantin Brancusi was concerned with both the texture and the form of his sculptures. Many of his works include highly polished surfaces, but he also enjoyed juxtaposing smooth stone or metal with rougher stone or wood. Conservators at the CMA worked with curators to determine the best plans for the long-term well being of this sculpture and to maintain Brancusi's intended highly polished surface.

	Armchair, about 1755: Restoring a 19th-Century Armchair
	When this chair entered the museum's collection it had lost all of its original gilding and upholstery. To recreate the artistic and cultural impact of the chair, it was regilded and reupholstered using non-invasive upholstery techniques.

	Saint Peter Repentant: Removing Old Restorations
	Recent varnish removal showed that an extensive amount of overpainting had been done (approximately forty years ago) to hide a relatively small loss in the area of the lantern. Minimal retouching disguised the damaged area and allows all of the original subtle nuances of the painting to be seen.

	Christ and the Virgin in the House at Nazareth: How a Painting's Appearance Changes Over Time
	The appearance of Francesco de Zurbarán's painting today is a result of the way the artist applied the paint, as well as the type of canvas and the color of the ground layers chosen by the artist. Over time, the appearance of this painting has changed, as the oil paint has become less opaque, revealing changes in the composition.

Tielemann Roosterman: A Reversible Conservation Treatment

When the museum acquired this painting in 1999, it included a visually distracting coat of arms in the upper right corner. Conservation examination showed that the coat of arms contained pigments dating to nearly a century after the painting was completed. To restore the portrait's original appearance and yet preserve its history, the coat of arms was concealed using paint that can easily be removed.

	The Mass of Saint Gregory: Examining a Painting Using Infrared Reflectography
	Examination of this painting with a camera sensitive to infrared light allows the conservator to see below the layers of paint and study the underdrawing. Color notations in old German are present, providing evidence that assistants worked with the master to create this painting.

	Hours of Queen Isabella the Catholic, Queen of Spain: The Effects of Light on Medieval Manuscripts
	Light can be especially damaging to dyes and pigments. To minimize the damage to individual pages and yet keep this most important manuscript on display at all times the pages are turned on a regular basis.

	Belt for a Lady's Dress: Display and Tarnish Prevention
	Preservation of works of art begins with controlling light, temperature, and relative humidity in the museum's galleries and storage areas. The environment within each display case can also be controlled. Here, specially treated cloth has been placed beneath the green display cloth to prevent tarnish from forming on this belt.

	Arm Reliquary of the Apostles: Examining an Object with X-Radiography
	Recent technical examination of this medieval Arm Reliquary helped conservators and curators better understand how the object was made and used. One large fragment of an arm bone-believed by the creators of the object to be the bone of a saint-was found in the reliquary.

	Coptic Textiles: Rotating Works That Are Fragile and Light Sensitive
	Exposure to light causes textile fibers to degrade and dyes to fade. These two works are rotated on and off display to reduce the damage so that future generations will be able to enjoy them. Low light levels also help preserve these fragile textiles.

	Faience and Frits: Understanding Materials and Techniques in Ancient Egypt
	Faience is a mixture of silica (sand), plant ash or desert salts, lime, and a metallic salt such as copper ore, fired to a lustrous finish. Variations in composition and technique may change the working properties and the appearance of the finished faience.

	Nome Gods Bearing Offerings: A Relief in Pieces
	The two blocks of stone comprising this relief sculpture were acquired by the museum 15 years apart. The gap between the stones was initially filled with painted plaster, which did not have the appearance of stone. Recently the old fills were removed. Minor fills along the edges were made with a pigmented spackling compound that better matches the stone's color and texture.

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