Art restoration takes steady hands and a discerning eye. For centuries, conservators have restored paintings by identifying areas needing repair, then mixing an exact shade to fill in one area at a ...

Over decades and centuries, a painting will be altered by light exposure, air quality, temperature fluctuations and chemical reactions in the paint layers. These factors can cause cracks, ...

Scans of the painting during various stages in its restoration. At left is the damaged piece, with the middle panel showing a map of the different kinds of damage present; green lines show full splits ...