Behind the Scenes in Conservation: Decluttering!
9/26/2024
After a very close and extended examination by our conservator , it seems certain Madonna and Child was originally part of an Italian Renaissance altarpiece.
Behind the Scenes in Conservation: Brighter Skies over Waterloo Bridge!
8/29/2024
A few weeks ago, we posted about cleaning this landscape painting by British artist John Constable (1776–1837). The conservation treatment proceeded as quickly as we expected.
Behind the Scenes in Conservation: Investigating a Chuck Close Print
8/22/2024
Denison Museum at Denison University (Granville, Ohio) will show nine Cincinnati Art Museum pieces in different media from August 29 to November 29, 2024, in their exhibition Portraying Identity .
Behind the Scenes in Conservation: Blue Skies over Waterloo Bridge
8/1/2024
We brought this lovely landscape, Waterloo Bridge by British artist John Constable (1776-1837), into the conservation lab to be examined for the British catalog project. Not conserved for more than 60 years, the painting’s varnish is now noticeably yellow.
Behind the Scenes in Conservation: Who’s counting?
5/9/2024
Boy with Grapes, by Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723–1792), is the 45th painting examined in the paintings conservation lab over the last eighteen months, for the British catalog project.
Behind the Scenes in Conservation: Charming Portrait of the Honorable Augusta Herbert
4/11/2024
This charming portrait of the Honorable Augusta Herbert, by British artist John Hoppner (1758–1810), is long overdue for cleaning.
Behind the Scenes in Conservation: A chemical peel?
3/14/2024
As paintings conservators, we may use chemicals, but we certainly don’t give facials.
Behind the Scenes in Conservation: Macro-Scanning Cézanne’s Still Life
2/15/2024
Last month, three Northwestern scientists brought their highly specialized scanning and imaging equipment to the museum and spent a week in our Paintings/Objects lab.
Behind the Scenes in Conservation: Cleaning a Visitor Favorite: Girl Eating Porridge
1/18/2024
This visitor favorite, Girl Eating Porridge, by French artist Adolphe William Bouguereau (1825–1905), was acquired by the museum in 1884, a mere ten years after the artist painted it.
Behind the Scenes in Conservation: A Portrait’s Curious Characteristics
12/7/2023
This small painting by American artist Julian Alden Weir (1852–1919) was donated to the museum by the artist in 1911.
Behind the Scenes in Conservation: Gainsborough’s Ladies
11/2/2023
These three portraits by 18th-century British artist Thomas Gainsborough are in the paintings conservation lab to be examined for the British catalog project.
Behind the Scenes in Conservation: A Twisted Tale
10/5/2023
This small round painting, attributed to the studio of the 17th century Dutch artist Frans Hals, was recently in the paintings conservation lab to have its discolored varnish removed.
Behind the Scenes in Conservation: Removing Varnish, Brightening a Landscape
8/10/2023
We’ve had this painting by American Impressionist Theodore Robinson (1852–1896) listed for varnish removal for a while. That’s because curators and conservators know that Impressionist artists rarely varnished their paintings.
Behind the Scenes in Conservation: The Approaching Storm
7/5/2023
Another work recently conserved for the British catalog project, The Approaching Storm by English artist Thomas Barker (1769–1847), presented a challenge.
Behind the Scenes in Conservation: A Seemingly Innocuous British Portrait
6/8/2023
When I read the curatorial file for this painting, I discovered a remarkably expansive biography, not just of the painting itself, but also of the sitter and the artist. What is most interesting to me, though, is the sitter’s story.
Behind the Scenes in Conservation: Street Cleaning
5/11/2023
We recently cleaned Sunlight on Prospect Street, Gloucester, Massachusetts by Edward Hopper (1882–1967).
Behind the Scenes in Conservation: A Charming Secret
4/13/2023
Painted by the French Impressionist Pierre Auguste Renoir (1841–1919), Fog on Guernsey recently paid a visit to our lab for cleaning—and it let us in on a charming secret.
Behind the Scenes in Conservation: Revealing an (Anonymous) British Lady
3/16/2023
This portrait of an anonymous lady by an anonymous British artist was so dirty that only the most basic details were visible before conservation.
Behind the Scenes in Conservation: Another British Invasion!
2/16/2023
These three portraits by Sir Joshua Reynolds (British, 1723–1792) have come out of storage and into the conservation lab for the museum’s British catalog project . They are due to be examined, and perhaps treated, before heading to our photography department for high resolution imaging.
Behind the Scenes in Conservation: Brightening a Nearly 100-Year-Old Harbor Scene
1/19/2023
Before the work was shipped to the museum from out of state, our curator of American art, Julie Aronson, PhD, contacted a professionally trained paintings conservator in that region to examine it. He noted a few areas with cracks and lifting paint that might be jeopardized during transport. With permission from the owner , the conservator applied the three tissue paper patches you see here to make sure that no paint flakes were lost in transit.
Revealing a “Hidden” Cézanne
12/15/2022
A few months ago, I posted about the complicated surface coatings on Cézanne’s Still Life with Bread and Eggs.” But what was going on under the surface was even more of a surprise.
Behind the Scenes in Conservation: Women at the Races
10/6/2022
Look for the recently conserved painting in our gallery soon.
Behind the Scenes in Conservation: Bread, Eggs, and UV Light
9/15/2022
Look for Bread and Eggs (and onions!) to return to the permanent galleries soon.
Behind the Scenes in Conservation: Phew!
8/18/2022
The last step of conserving the large 7’ x 5’ painting by Murillo has arrived.
Behind the Scenes in Conservation: Structural Support
6/23/2022
Now that the Murillo has been cleaned of varnish and retouching, it’s time to address its structural support, in other words, the canvas and stretcher.
Behind the Scenes in Conservation: Varnished Villanueva
5/26/2022
Cleaning of the very large painting by the Spanish artist, Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, has begun.
Behind the Scenes in Conservation: Return of the Shrimp
4/28/2022
Our paintings conservator is readying another painting for our upcoming exhibition Henry Mosler Behind the Scenes: In Celebration of the Jewish Cincinnati Bicentennial.
Behind the Scenes in Conservation: Ladder Required
3/31/2022
Conservation has begun on one of the tallest paintings in the museum.
Behind the Scenes in Conservation: A face, an egg, a patch
3/3/2022
Conservation of the large still-life by an anonymous 17th century Neapolitan artist is finally finished.
Behind the Scenes in Conservation: A Close Encounter
2/3/2022
Here’s another close encounter in the paintings conservation studio that you would be unlikely to see in our galleries.
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