What brings a group of architects, conservators, engineers, geologists, scientists, and archaeologists from twenty countries and six continents to Rome? Rocks—or more accurately, stone. They have all come to participate in the 17th International Course on Stone Conservation, which began… More»
Art Kaplan is on a mission. At my request, he’s looking for a particular yellow pigment to show me—and there are hundreds of yellows to choose from, in drawers labeled Yellow Ochre, Lemon Ochre, Golden Yellow, French Yellow, and labels… More»
I’ve long admired the films of Werner Herzog, so I was delighted to discover that his new film Cave of Forgotten Dreams, made in 3-D, is about the prehistoric paintings at Chauvet, in the Ardeche region of southeastern France. I… More»
In 1507, German Renaissance painter Albrecht Dürer painted life-size figures of Adam and Eve, defining their forms with a fluid and continuous line. These spectacular oil-on-panel paintings, which have just undergone a lengthy conservation, went on display again last week… More»
What do cutting-edge research into future space travel and the investigation of ancient ceramic pots have in common? More than you’d think. More»
I popped by the Getty Conservation Institute’s science labs this week to be met with a surprise: a large white Doug Wheeler painting (1964, Untitled, acrylic) alongside the beakers and other scientific equipment. Wheeler is best known for his neon… More»
América Tropical, the only surviving public mural by David Alfaro Siqueiros in the United States, is one step closer to being on view to you and me. At El Pueblo Historic Monument in downtown Los Angeles, project leaders today broke… More»
Many first-time visitors to the Getty Center disembark the tram at the top of the hill, take one look around, and wonder out loud, “What’s in all of these buildings?” Our new orientation film—also available in Spanish here—aims to answer… More»
Many types of plastic used in artworks are now beginning to exhibit serious signs of deterioration – discoloration, crazing and cracking, warping, becoming sticky, and in extreme cases, turning completely to powder. The sheer number of plastics available constitutes a huge challenge for the conservation profession. More»
When eight colleagues from Jordan’s Department of Antiquities (DoA) came to the Getty Conservation Institute (GCI) in early April, they had only an inkling of what was in store. Sure, they knew they were going to be trained on “MEGA-J,”… More»
Medieval methods of entertainment included sad dances and alienation parties.
Tights are not pants, circa 1400something.