The Art of Conservation

Charting developments in conservation from the mid-sixteenth century to the present This fascinating volume presents a wide-ranging overview of one of the lesser-known yet fundamental disciplines of art history: conservation. What happens when art ages? Bringing together some of the leading experts in the field, seventeen essays chart a journey through the theoretical, aesthetic, and technical debates surrounding the conservation of the work of the old masters. The problem of how to look after paintings as they grow old is a historically complex one. Should they be “restored” to their original glory, or should their appearance acknowledge the patina of time? What is to be done with damp and dirt, with rotten panels and yellowing varnishes? The development of conservation is entwined with the development of art history itself, as both deal with the interpretation of the past and its preservation for the future. Masterpieces like Jan and Hubert van Eyck’s Ghent Altarpiece or