Conservation and Research Projects

Conservation work on the Battle of the Boyne. © National Gallery of Ireland
© National Gallery of Ireland

The preservation and advancement of knowledge have been fundamental to the Gallery’s work since the founding gift of artworks that led to its opening in 1864. Equally important, the Gallery’s conservation staff are finding new ways to study the collection, yielding fresh insights about a wide range of objects and the artists that produced them.

Projects: Recent and Ongoing

A small oval painting of a bull stands on an easel; someone stands in front of it taking an infrared reading

The White Bull Conservation and Research Project 

An exciting new conservation collaboration between the National Gallery of Ireland and the Mauritshuis in The Hague which will delve into the world of the artist Paulus Potter. Find out more about this collaborative project here.

Large painting depicting the parting of the red sea, with numerous figures in a sea scape.

TEFAF Museum Restoration Fund

As one of the 2024 TMRF recipients, the Gallery restored The Crossing of the Red Sea by Italian Renaissance artist Ludovico Mazzolino. Find out more about the TEFAF project here.

Collage depicting a guitar, glasses, sheet music and a glass bottle.

Getty Fellowship Conservation Project

Conserving Canvas is an international grant initiative focused on the conservation of paintings on canvas, and we are delighted to be the recipient of a grant. Find out more about this exciting conservation project.

Getty Paintings conservator Devi Ormond cleans Guercino's 'Jacob Blessing the Sons of Joseph', c. 1620. Photo © Getty Museum

Guercino Research and Conservation Project

The Paintings Conservation Department at the J. Paul Getty Museum embarked on a collaborative conservation treatment and research project centred on one of the National Gallery of Ireland’s masterpieces, Jacob Blessing the Sons of Joseph by Guercino. Explore the completed Guercino  project.

Photo of a large painting in a darkened room with silhouette of figure walking past

Lavinia Fontana Conservation and Research Project

The Gallery has been awarded funding under the Bank of America Art Conservation Project 2018 to support the conservation of Lavinia Fontana's painting The Visit of the Queen of Sheba to King Solomon. Find out more about the Fontana project.

Muirne conserving Murillo's Prodigal Son Feasting.

Murillo: The Prodigal Son Restored

Six remarkable paintings by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (1617–1682), depicting the parable of the Prodigal Son, were conserved and researched at the National Gallery of Ireland. Find out more about the Murillo project.

Impressionistic landscape painting of a river, trees on the riverbank, buildings on the horizon and a white sailboat.

Monet Conservation Project

In June 2012 Monet’s Argenteuil Basin with a Single Sailboat was badly damaged following vandalism by a member of the public. Our conservators embarked on an 18-month conservation project. 

Download a PDF with more details about the Monet Conservation Project.

Detail from Perugino's 'The lamentation over the dead Christ' showing the figure of Nicodemus after cleaning, but before restoration.

Perugino Restoration Project

Perugino's The Lamentation over the Dead Christ was the focus of an extensive restoration project. Find out more about the Perugino project.

Jan Wyck (1644-1702), 'The Battle of the Boyne', 1693.

The Battle of the Boyne Conservation Project

A major project in collaboration with Malahide Castle. Find out more about the Battle of the Boyne project.

 

Daniel Maclise (1806-1870), detail from 'The Marriage of Strongbow and Aoife', c.1854. © National Gallery of Ireland.

Maclise Conservation Project

In 2010, the Conservation Department embarked on an enormous task - the restoration of one of the Gallery's most beloved (and largest!) paintings, The Marriage of Strongbow and Aoife. Find out more about the Maclise project.

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