Restoring the Sistine Chapel: A Controversial Revival

Conservators are art heroes: they transform damaged or dirty works of art into beautiful, fresh works for public consumption. Then why is it that conservation has been at the center of some of the biggest art historical controversies of the last fifty years? What does a conservator really do, and what happens when conservation goes too far?          

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Many thanks to the incredible Stephanie Pryor for research assistance!

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Want more art-historical goodness? Check out the links below:

NPR: Art Conservators at Work: A Living Exhibit

Smithsonian Magazine: "True Colors"

Hyperallergic: With Its Own Arts Center, Beast Jesus Rises Again

Huffington Post: “Elderly Woman’s Hilarious Failed Attempt At Restoring A 19th Century Fresco In Borja, Spain.”

ArtNet News: “Appalling Restoration Destroys Giotto Frescoes at the Basilica of Saint Francis in Assisi Parts of the priceless medieval frescoes are now lost forever.”

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