How to save an old painting that you inherited

MATTHEW MOSS – Caring for Old Master Paintings

Nuptial Portrait

PAINTED BY THE FLORENTINE PAINTER MICHELE TOSINI in the period 1503-77. A pupil of Lorenzo di Credi, he took the name of the artist, Ridolfo di Ghirlandaio (1483-1561), with whom he collaborated on various paintings.
https://www.worldcat.org/title/caring-for-old-master-paintings-their-preservation-and-conservation/oclc/246570194

The Bible of Caring for your Old Paintings

DISCOVER THE MISUNDERSTOOD world of paintings conservation, an art long qualified  as a secretive profession of craftsmen with origins going back To before the  thirteenth century.the ideas and Fashions of restoration practiced in the past, as well as today’s more subtle approach to cleaning Old Master paintings that preserves, as much as possible, the artist’s original support, glazes, colours and varnishes. The conservator is today assisted by many modern technologies that include ultraviolet and infra-red photography, even X-radiation.

Caring for Old Master Paintings examines many Old Master paintings that have actually been restored. Concrete examples of proven restoration techniques. reveal the fascinating world of art conservation. The reader, whether owner of a precious family heirloom, scholar, simple art lover or art professional discovers a new vision on the world of paintings preservation. Verify if a painting is genuine or a forgery and care and look after paintings safely. Gain a greater awareness and sensitivity to Old Masters and to paintings in general.

This guide is designed for art lovers responsible for the care of paintings. The book offers guidance to the owner or collector with one or more painting, museum curators, art dealers, art consultants, scholars and art historians. Artists and art suppliers, picture framers, lighting experts, security and naturally, art restorers and conservators will find this guide invaluable. Research in art libraries in various parts of Europe and the United States will often unearth a copy: online libraries often have various edition available.

Restoration & Conservation – Preserving our art passed down from previous generations and a reminder of why we should keep humanity’s artistic patrimony safe.

Old Master paintings done hundreds of years ago have the power, even today, to move us by the skill with which the artist painted, with love and dedication, a landscape, portrait or a still life. A painting portrays the spirit and the feelings of the times in which the artist lived

Whether a work of art is by an artist who is well-known, signed and dated or an anonymous or forgotten painter, they equally share a common fate that, once the work of art has been lost or destroyed it will never be replaced. The Restoration & Conservation section is a useful guide to the rich, interesting and little known world which is the care and the restoration of Old Master paintings. The site also shows a live example of the conservation of an actual painting and its transformation from a darkened torn and damaged canvas to the work of art as it appears, in all its present splendor.

• Chapter Headings Include:
  Practical examples on how to safely examine and handle old paintings .
  What is the most benign environment to hang your painting.
  Caring for Old Master Painting, contains a practical guide, in the seven major European languages, to help you acquire the terms most commonly used in conservation.

“All art is quite useless” (The Picture of Dorian GreyOscar Wilde, c.1895, oil on canvas? 58.5x48cm, Toulouse-Lautrec
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Caring for old master paintings: their preservation and conservation  Author: Matthew Moss, publication: Blackrock, Co. Dublin Irish Academic Press – Format: Printed Book: English, Subjects Painting – Conservation and restoration.