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Research from Paintings Conservation

Opened book on a black table shows several details of Giovanni Bellini’s Saint Francis in the Desert, a painting from the Frick Collection.
Resource
Department Bibliography

Browse an abridged bibliography of our staff's published work.

Iron distribution map of The Death of Socrates
Close Look
The Death of Socrates: New Discoveries

Technical examination of Jacques Louis David’s masterpiece reveals that the refinements seen in the artist’s preparatory drawings didn’t end when he began painting—rather, they continued through all stages of its execution.

Essays

Detail of a large 18th-century Cuzco School painting depicting the Virgin of Valvanera. She holds the Holy Child with her right hand and a bouquet of flowers in her left
Plant Ash in Ground Preparations
The study of material derived from ash used in the ground preparations of paintings by both Spanish and Latin American artists in the Baroque period sheds new light on the spread of artistic practices beyond Spain.
August 29, 2023
Conservator Sophie Scully and two curatorial fellows gather around a table in the Paintings Conservation studio. One of the fellows looks at a Flemish painting through a microscope while the others observe.
Collaborations: Van Gogh and APPEAR
Paintings Conservation staff regularly partner with colleagues in cultural heritage institutions on conservation and preservation projects.
October 5, 2022
Pastoral scene of women in pastel dresses speaking with a younger girl, while a small black-and-white dog at their feet gazes at two cows in the other direction
Investigation of Heavy-Metal Soap Deterioration in Oil Paintings
This project seeks to determine the causes and mechanisms of a degradation process in traditional oil paintings known as soap formation.
August 2, 2022
Portrait detail depicting the worn, wrinkled face of an older man.
Hugo van der Goes’s Portrait of a Man
Upon arrival at the Museum, this painting‘s paper support was brittle and delaminating from the wooden panel: a direct consequence of being kept in an uncontrolled environment for many years.
August 2, 2022
Bucolic scene of a garden blooming with flowers and greenery
Stanley Spencer’s King’s Cookham Rise
Stanley Spencer’s King’s Cookham Rise came to the studio to be examined and treated in preparation for an exhibition.
August 2, 2022
Painting detail showing three men with hats playing cards at a small table, while a fourth man stands behind, watching them play.
Cezanne’s Card Players
In preparation for the 2011 exhibition Cézanne‘s Card Players, Met staff investigated the creation of this series of masterpieces through technical examination.
August 1, 2022
A painting showing Joseph, the Virgin, and the Christ Child in the foreground, while the three magi stand behind them.
Examining The Adoration of the Magi
A recent conservation treatment of The Adoration of the Magi provided the opportunity to examine the painting and to investigate the stages of its production.
August 1, 2022
Detail of painting of a woman in a low-cut black dress looking off to the side.
Revealing Madame X
Researchers at The Met describe methods used to uncover the artist John Singer Sargent’s creative process.
August 27, 2020
Vermeer's painting Mistress and Maid, and an X-ray image of the same painting
Scientific Discoveries in Johannes Vermeer’s Mistress and Maid
The Met, The Frick Collection, and the Doerner Institut team up to investigate changes to the composition and the discoloration of some paint passages.
June 23, 2020
At the far left in the midground, men in robes walk up steps to an altar canopy. In the foreground, three quarters of the painting is dominated by a large building with an open colonnade and populated by several women in Renaissance garb.
Investigating the Formation and Structure of Lead Soaps in Traditional Oil Paintings
Understanding the chemical processes of lead and heavy metal soaps informs art conservators on ways to slow, stop, and prevent the deterioration of unique works of art.
June 11, 2020
Detail of portrait showing the face of a dark-haired woman, Gertrude Stein, wearing dark brown against a brown background
A Face is a Face is a Face
Paintings conservators at The Met use recent technology to delve into the famous portrait of Gertrude Stein by Picasso.
April 10, 2020