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.

Making Manuscripts, Getty Museum

An illuminated manuscript is a book written and decorated completely by hand. Illuminated manuscripts were among the most precious objects produced in the Middle Ages and the early Renaissance, primarily in monasteries and courts. Society's rulers--emperors, kings, dukes, cardinals, and bishops--commissioned the most splendid manuscripts.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aDHJu9J10o