Conservation and Research Projects

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

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.

Recent projects

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.

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.

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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