David Bomford – författare

This volume on paintings conservation includes more than seventy texts ranging from the fifteenth century to the present day. Some are classic and highly influential writings; others, although little known when first published, in retrospect reflect important themes and issues in the history of the field. Many appear here in English for the first time, including translations of D. Vicente Polero y Toledo's 1855 essay "Arte de la Restauracion" (The Art of Restoration), and Victor Bauer-Bolton's treatise from 1914, "Sollen fehlende Stellen bei Gemalden erganzt werden?" (Should Missing Areas of Paintings Be Made Good?).The book is divided into six sections: An Historical Miscellany, History of the Profession, Study of Artists' Materials and Techniques, Structural Interventions, Philosophical and Practical Approaches to Cleaning and Restoration, and Cleaning Controversies.This is the second volume to appear in the Getty Conservation Institute's Readings in Conservation series, which publishes texts considered fundamental to an understanding of the history, philosophies, and methodologies of conservation."

This volume on paintings conservation includes more than seventy texts ranging from the fifteenth century to the present day. Some are classic and highly influential writings; others, although little known when first published, in retrospect reflect important themes and issues in the history of the field. Many appear here in English for the first time. Divided into six sections: An Historical Miscellany, History of the Profession, Study of Artists' Materials and Techniques, Structural Interventions, Philosophical and Practical Approaches to Cleaning and Restoration, and Cleaning Controversies.

A Closer Look is the new series title for the updated and refreshed National Gallery Pocket Guide range. The series has been enhanced with a stronger format, attractive design, new photography, and additional information. The philosophy of modern conservation is different from that of previous eras: the emphasis now is on long-term stabilization by methods that alter the structure of a painting as little as possible. Nevertheless, if paintings are obscured by discolored varnishes and old repaints, they are cleaned, and this has often led to anxiety and debate as long-admired images are transformed. A Closer Look: Conservation of Paintings discusses the material nature of paintings and the ways that they have changed, both naturally and at the hands of previous restorers. It also describes the main types of conservation treatment carried out on panel and canvas paintings and some of the complex issues involved in cleaning and restoration. Published by National Gallery Company/Distributed by Yale University Press

A Closer Look is the new series title for the updated and refreshed National Gallery Pocket Guide range. The series has been enhanced with a stronger format, attractive design, new photography, and additional information.It is self-evident that colour is fundamental to painting, but it is not always obvious from looking at pictures what kinds of materials may be used by an artist to make colour. This Pocket Guide explains how coloured pigments are combined with a medium to form a paint layer, and how this affects our perception of the appearance of colour. It not only describes the materials of colour but also explains colour theories and examines writings about colour, including painters’ treatises.Through a selection of superb pictures from the National Gallery, London, including works by Piero della Francesca, Leonardo, Titian, Caravaggio, Canaletto, Rembrandt, Velázquez, Monet, and Seurat, the authors demonstrate how painters through the centuries have exploited the characteristics of colour in paint.Published by National Gallery Company/Distributed by Yale University Press

Charting developments in conservation from the mid-sixteenth century to the present  This fascinating volume presents a wide-ranging overview of one of the lesser-known yet fundamental disciplines of art history: conservation. What happens when art ages? Bringing together some of the leading experts in the field, seventeen essays chart a journey through the theoretical, aesthetic, and technical debates surrounding the conservation of the work of the old masters. The problem of how to look after paintings as they grow old is a historically complex one. Should they be “restored” to their original glory, or should their appearance acknowledge the patina of time? What is to be done with damp and dirt, with rotten panels and yellowing varnishes? The development of conservation is entwined with the development of art history itself, as both deal with the interpretation of the past and its preservation for the future. Masterpieces like Jan and Hubert van Eyck’s Ghent Altarpiece or Rembrandt’s The Night Watch have been treated and mistreated many times in their long lives. By the nineteenth century, the growing knowledge of the techniques employed by the old masters had a profound influence on the treatments applied to their works. In the same period, the birth of national galleries as public institutions entrusted with the collective heritage led to the need to preserve large numbers of paintings and establish conservation departments rooted in scientific research. By the mid-twentieth century, the materials and techniques of painting were utterly transformed, demanding fresh approaches to their preservation. A discipline that sits at the crossroads of art, science, philosophy, and technology, modern conservation is the result of an ongoing collaboration between conservators, scientists, and art historians following rigorous ethical standards and training programs.