Conserving Old Master Drawings: A Balancing Act

A fundamental role of a museum is to care for its collection and preserve it for future generations. European drawings from the 1300s to the late 1800s, or old master drawings, are particularly vulnerable--they are on paper and hundreds of years old. A paper conservator must find the balance between maintaining the historical integrity of the drawing while preserving the appearance intended by the artist.

Watch a Getty conservator analyze and treat a drawing using a variety of techniques in this short video.

Download video (ZIP files):
HD 480p (MOV 108 MB) -- http://bit.ly/b2yDDd
HD 720p (MOV 268 MB) -- http://bit.ly/c7shsx
iPod/iPhone/iPad (M4V 49 MB) -- http://bit.ly/bsIjGk

Related exhibition:
http://bit.ly/gXNXNI

Category:

Education

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[Bangwhistle]

Shouldn't she be wearing gloves?

[laobhaise7]

@mrsillywalk - i would love to know why you believe she should wear gloves or a mask?

the reason that white gloves are sometimes encoraged in libraries is to prevent the transfer of dirt (and skin oils) onto a sheet of paper- however gloves wil reduce the wearers senstivity so he/she may cause more damage.therefore clean hands pose much less risk.

while 100% ammonia is harmful, most household cleanind products would contain more harmful chemicals that what is being used here.

[mrsillywalk]

My thought exactly. Also she should be wearing a mask.

[iwalktherain]

shitty.. she lifted it carelessly

[Pawnbroker00]

Crazy bitch, why no gloves?