Restoration Thyssen

It strives to restore the integrity of works by applying treatments that prolong the life of these cultural assets and to remedy the damage caused by the passage of time and the ageing of materials.

Discover the Restaurabits

Secrets and curiosities of the works
Comparativa de la imagen rasante y la imagen radiográfica de la obra de Canaletto "La Plaza de San Marcos en Venecia"
Restaurabit
How the campanile in "The Piazza San Marco in Venice" was painted

Canaletto employed a compass to position the four arches in the upper tier of the campanile. The trace of the compass’s needle is visible at the centre of each semicircular arch. Although it was not unusual for painters to employ this instrument, it is striking to find it used over the paint layer.

Restaurabit
The composition concealed beneath Picasso’s Harlequin

Concealed beneath the paint layers of the composition visible today in Picasso’s Harlequin with Mirror is a different creation.

 

Restaurabit
Saint Catherine’s enigmatic dress

Can you imagine Saint Catherine dressed in red? That is the colour we discovered during our research when the work’s materials were analysed. It would have been part of an initial version of the clothing of Caravaggio’s figure.

 

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Technical Studies and Conservation Work

Conservation/restoration projects and technical studies reflect the results of the examinations carried out by the department. This work helps glean new information and rediscover the pieces in the permanent collection
Fra Angelico, The Virgin of Humility.
Restoration and technical study
Fra Angelico, The Virgin of Humility.
Results and conclusions of the technical studies conducted on The Virgin of Humility, one of Fra Angelico’s most iconic paintings.
Carpaccio’s Knight
Restoration and technical study
Carpaccio’s Knight
Carpaccio’s Knight is a painting that is as dazzling as it is enigmatic. We still do not know the man’s identity, even though historians have been coming up with various hypothesis for the past century. The most recent proposal, put forward by Professor Augusto Gentili, is that he is a Venetian captain stationed at a naval base in Greece who was defeated by the Turks and beheaded in Istanbul.
Georgia O'Keeffe in the Thyssen-Bornemisza Collections
Technical study
Georgia O'Keeffe in the Thyssen-Bornemisza Collections
To mark the first Georgia O’Keeffe retrospective in Spain, the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza decided to carry out research on the five paintings belonging to its collections, dated between 1921 and 1957, in order to examine the artist’s technique in depth.
Technical study and restoration of The Piazza San Marco in Venice by Canaletto
Restoration and technical study
Technical study and restoration of The Piazza San Marco in Venice by Canaletto
The technical study and restoration of Canaletto’s work The Piazza San Marco in Venice was made possible by the sponsorship of Artika and a crowdfunding campaign to which over six hundred people contributed. The painting had been distorted by the oxidation of the varnish layer, creating a brownish-yellow film that obscured the colours and luminosity of the original.
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Meet the Restoration team

Research projects

Approach the restoration process

Visits to the workshop
Visits to the workshop
Aimed at professionals and postgraduate and master's degree students
The visit shows how professional conservation and restoration work is carried out in the institutional environment through the various activities involved and complements academic training with a view to the students' professional future.   
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Guided virtual tour
Guided virtual tour
A virtual experience for all audiences
A tour of the works from the point of view of the museum's restoration team. You will learn about some of the treatments that are carried out on the paintings and we will reveal secrets and curiosities that hide a selection of our masterpieces.
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Supports restoration projects
Collaborate actively with the museum in its studies and projects
Join us!