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Unit: Creating & conserving

About this unit

Brought to you by Smarthistory. Learn how the ancient Greeks fired their ceramics, how renaissance artists created luminous oil paintings and the techniques developed by modern masters. Visit a museum and see what a conservator sees.

The conservator's eye

Learn

The conservator's eye: Marble statue of a wounded warrior
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The conservator's eye: Taddeo Gaddi, Saint Julian
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The conservator's eye: a stained glass Adoration of the Magi
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The conservator’s eye: Rembrandt's Aristotle with a Bust of Homer
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The conservator's eye: Madame Cézanne in the Conservatory
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Anselm Kiefer, Bohemia Lies by the Sea
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What is conservation?

Learn

Art Conservation Behind the Scenes
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What does a conservator do?
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Conservation: Tools of the Trade
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Scientific research glossary of terms
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About color

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Making Purple: The Science of Art | National Gallery, London
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Making Green: Tempera versus Oil | National Gallery, London
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The Alchemy of Color and Chemical Change in Medieval Manuscripts
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Painting materials and techniques

Learn

Tempera paint
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Gold-ground panel painting
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Oil paint
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Oil paint in Venice
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How to stretch a large canvas
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Almost Invisible: The Cartoon Transfer Process
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Renaissance Watercolours: materials and techniques
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Painting conservation

Learn

Conservation of paintings
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Conservation: portrait miniatures
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Ghent Altarpiece project overview
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Conserving a portrait of King Edward VI
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Jan Gossart - Conservation Discoveries
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Conserving Velázquez's Portrait of Philip IV
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Conserving van Walscapelle's Flowers in a Glass Vase
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Conserving Everhard Jabach and His Family
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Conserving the Virgin of Guadalupe
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Conserving Vincent van Gogh's Field with Irises near Arles
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Conserving Van Gogh's "Enclosed Field with Ploughman" Under Raking Light
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The Science of Van Gogh's Bedrooms
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Restoring Rothko
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Conserving Cuzco School Paintings
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How to paint like...

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The Painting Techniques of Jackson Pollock
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The Painting Techniques of Mark Rothko
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The Painting Techniques of Barnett Newman
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The Painting Techniques of Franz Kline
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How to paint like Yayoi Kusama
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How to paint like Willem de Kooning
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Investigating Rothko's Technique
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Painting terms in action

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Art Terms in Action: Turpentine Burn
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Art Terms in Action: Palette Knife
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Art Terms in Action: Stain
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Art Terms in Action: Emulsion
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Art Terms in Action: Enamel
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Art Terms in Action: Paint
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Art Terms in Action: Tint, Shade, and Tone
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Art Terms in Action: Viscosity
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Sculpture

Learn

Working jade
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Quarrying and carving marble
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Carving marble with traditional tools
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Casting bronze: lost-wax method
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Casting bronze: direct lost-wax casting
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Making a Spanish polychrome sculpture
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Making a Spanish polychrome sculpture: Saint Ginés de la Jara
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After the Fall: The Conservation of Tullio Lombardo's "Adam"
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Object Conservation - Salisbury Cross
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Contemporary Art Conservation at Smithsonian's Hirshhorn Museum
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Conservation: Cast of the Pórtico de la Gloria
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Conservation: The Nasrid plasterwork collection at the V&A
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Conservation: Playing Tipu’s Tiger
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Conservation: The Wolsey Angels
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Printmaking

Learn

Introduction to printmaking
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Introduction to relief printmaking
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Relief process
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Introduction to intaglio
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Intaglio process
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Introduction to lithography
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Lithography process
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Drawing and manuscripts

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Making manuscripts
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Drawing with charcoal: historical techniques of 19th century France
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Conserving old master drawings: a balancing act
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Conserving Henri Matisse's "The Swimming Pool"
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Renaissance Watercolours: materials and techniques
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Photographs

Learn

Seeing Through Photographs
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Before Photography - Photographic Processes Series - Chapter 1 of 12
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The Daguerreotype - Photographic Processes Series - Chapter 2 of 12
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Talbot's Processes - Photographic Processes Series - Chapter 3 of 12
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The Collodion - Photographic Processes Series - Chapter 5 of 12
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The Albumen Print - Photographic Processes Series - Chapter 6 of 12
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The Platinum Print - Photographic Processes Series - Chapter 7 of 12
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The Pigment Processes - Photographic Processes Series - Chapter 8 of 12
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The Woodburytype - Photographic Processes Series - Chapter 9 of 12
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The Gelatin Silver Process - Photographic Processes Series - Chapter 10 of 12
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An Introduction to Photography in the Early 20th Century
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Color Photography - Photographic Processes Series - Chapter 11 of 12
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Digital Photography - Photographic Processes Series - Chapter 12 of 12
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Ceramics and lacquer

Learn

Greek Vase-Painting, an introduction
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Making Greek vases
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Ancient Greek vase production and the black-figure technique
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Conservation: Korean lacquer
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Mosaic, metalwork and glass

Learn

Ancient and Byzantine mosaic materials
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How was it made? Micromosaics
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Medieval goldsmiths
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An Art of Attraction: The Electrotyping Process
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Glassmaking technique: free-blown glass
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Roman mold-blown glass
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How stained glass is made
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Stained glass: history and technique
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The conservator's eye: a stained glass Adoration of the Magi
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Enamelling
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Textiles

Learn

The Art of Making a Tapestry
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William Morris, The Bullerswood Carpet
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Conserving the Emperors Carpet
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Conservation of the Ardabil Carpet: the oldest dated carpet in the world
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Conservation: Indian Jama
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Frames

Learn

Framing "Christina's World" by Andrew Wyeth
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Behind the scenes at the Framing Department | The National Gallery, London
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Van Dyck's Self-portrait: The Frame and its Conservation
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Unit: Creating & conserving

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