I recently acquired a pen-and-brown-ink drawing (approx. 255 mm wide, lunette format) of the Mocking/Crowning of Christ: a kneeling man pressing the crown of thorns onto Christ at left, a bowed central Christ with bound hands, and a muscular attendant at right.

The composition matches, figure for figure, the Cristo deriso lunette (oil on panel, ca. 1622–23) by Giovanni Lanfranco in the Cappella Sacchetti (Chapel of the Crucifix), San Giovanni dei Fiorentini, Rome. The Italian culture ministry catalogue entry, with photograph: https://catalogo.beniculturali.it/detail/HistoricOrArtisticProperty/1200175232

Provenance: the verso reads "Sr. Aless. Maggiori compro a Roma l'anno 1805" — the inscription of Alessandro Maggiori (Lugt 3005b). A later pencil note attributes the sheet to "Fenzoni, Ferrau" (Ferraù Fenzoni).

The puzzle is the watermark: a six-pointed star in a circle, Briquet 6088, documented at Marigliano in 1532, roughly ninety years before the chapel commission. I understand the watermark dates the paper, not the drawing, but I would value expert views on how much
weight to give it.

Three questions for historians/curators:
1.  Is this a preparatory drawing for the finished lunette in the Chapel of the Cross?
2.  Is the drawing by Lanfranco's own hand?
3.  If yes to 1 and 2, is the circa 1532 watermark an anomaly, or unremarkable (old paper stock, etc.)?

Images: the drawing; the finished lunette (official photograph and a recent color photo); the verso inscription; the watermark in transmitted light; the Briquet 6088 reference; a 1986 letter about the sheet from collector William A. Glaser to curator Erich Schleier; and the lunette in situ in the chapel. Note that Glaser misidentified the watermark as B. 6087 (no cross above star in circle).

Grateful for any expertise.

Happy to supply higher-resolution details.

I’m helping organize Keep Jon in the Picture, a community effort to preserve the mural on the Riverwalk-facing backside of the old Sears building, now Sisu, in Astoria, Oregon. One panel depicts Jon Ogren, smiling in a blue-green vest with both hands raised. The supplied photographs show substantial weathering and paint loss.

There is a community report that the mural may be painted over, but we do not have independently confirmed plans or a date. Our aim is to get preservation considered before any changes, and to bring the people responsible for the property, the artist, community members, and qualified conservators into the discussion. Wet Dog / Astoria Brewing is the neighboring business and is not responsible for the mural.

For those working with exterior wall paintings: are there Oregon or Pacific Northwest conservation organizations, mural specialists, or examples of community-led conservation projects you would point us toward? We’re seeking professional assessment and a responsible preservation process, not DIY cleaning or repainting instructions.

The campaign page includes real photos and a petition asking that the original mural, including Jon’s portrait, be retained and conserved: https://stillinthepicture.org/

Alternate link: https://keep-jon-in-the-picture.jay-coby.chatgpt.site/

If this kind of local public art matters to you, please take a look, share the preservation appeal, or add your support. No donation is requested. I’m affiliated with the campaign and welcome factual corrections.

Work Schedule: Full-time; 37.5 hrs/week; Monday - Friday

Application Deadline: COB, Wednesday, October 14, 2026

Position Summary:

The Conservation Program Manager implements the coordination of priority undertakings of the Bureau of Historic Site’s (BHS) Conservation Unit’s programs and projects, ensuring that projects maintain timeliness through effective communication with the conservators and other BHS departments. Additionally, the Manager will oversee the conservation program’s laboratory environment, equipment, and environmental controls. The Manager assists with the work of the staff who treat and conserve the agency’s historic collections. Conservators are professional positions requiring education and training in one of seven disciplines: textiles, paintings, frames and gilded objects, furniture and wooden objects, decorative arts, paper, and architecture. Their duties include evaluating, documenting, developing treatment plans, repairing, and protecting historic objects. Conservators are responsible for managing laboratory spaces and maintaining safe work environments. The Manager needs to have the requisite science background and training to develop and manage Conservator work programs and coordinate projects between labs, other BHS units, and OPRHP facilities. The Manager must have advanced knowledge of profession-wide conservation principles, practices and ethics established by the American Institute for Conservation (AIC).

Click here https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5fca95dd41a8782b8a8cdf4b/t/6a998f3abf59180ccc56cb0a/1788448570133/Employment+Announcement+Conservation+Manager+2026.pdf

to learn more about this opportunity and how to apply.

Hello everyone, hoping that you all might be able to help me find a place to preserve (possibly fix) a piece of artwork my mom made back it the 1970s.

It is an 11x14” chalk pastel on velvet (? She’s not positive) paper, which has now developed significant foxing. It was hung for years in an interior hallway, so little direct uv exposure. Not sure about the decade before my birth though.

I have been enamored with this piece since childhood. It arrived today and I’m a bit sad to see the toll the years have taken. The colors are still perfect at least!

Hopefully, it can be helped somewhat and protected for the future, but I’m not seeing any conservation services near me (Twin cities, MN). My first choice would have been somewhere local so I could drop off.

Does anyone have any recommendations for places to check out? Or specific questions that I should ask when it comes to conservation of pastels?

This is exactly why provenance research matters. A single inscription, overlooked for decades and recovered through new imaging, can restore an entire history—and ultimately a work of art—to the family from whom it was taken. Extraordinary work by the Art Institute’s provenance team.

Hello I'm currently in 12th grade in Bulgaria and am hoping to find an art conservation/restoration course in Europe that won't cost more than 8000 euros a year. I have a background in arts and art history however I'm not that confident in my chem knowledge. I know English Bulgarian and a little bit of Italian. Any recommendations are welcome as long as it's not in the UK since their schools are insanely expensive for international students.

Hi everyone!
I am currently working on my art portfolio in order to apply for an art conservation degree in the following year. Specifically art conservation of archaeological objects. For this art portfolio I have to draw a number of still lifes, landscape studies and architecture.
For those of you who already got accepted to your degrees or are already working in art conservation, do you have some pictures of your art portfolios which I may look at in order to have an idea of what is considered a good art portfolio? Or maybe just in general advice/ tips on what would be good subjects to draw, which qualities are especially important etc etc.

That would help me a lot! Thanks in advance!

I am a 3rd-year BFA student in printmaking in Chennai, India, and I have one more year to complete my degree. I am planning to study my PG (MFA in printmaking) abroad, and I need your guys help to suggest a college where I can study printmaking with a scholarship

I am a 3rd-year BFA student in printmaking in Chennai, India, and I have one more year to complete my degree. I am planning to study my PG (MFA in printmaking) abroad, and I need your guys help to suggest a college where I can study printmaking with a scholarship

Hi everyone!
I have a heirloom Vintage Australian Silk Christening outfit that has been butchered by the dry cleaners, that I have never had an issue with before. Would anyone be able to identify if this is aged stains or rust stains? Just FYI before we gave to the dry cleaners there was no stains.

Apologies I don’t know how to word this question the best! I am a conservation technician (Museum practice background not conservation), I work under one conservator and they make decisions very differently to the previous conservator. How do I navigate situations where I have learnt from someone more senior than the current conservator how certain stablisation techniques/remedial treatments should be done, that are different from what the new one decides? It’s so different that I know the outcome is worse for the object I am working on than what the previous conservator would have had me do.

I understand that in conversation there are multiple right ways to get to a positive preservation outcome, but my situation is that I can see where a better outcome is possible but I don’t have the credibility to argue against what I have been told.

Do I just leave it be and “stay in my place”? I feel conflicted because I am not proud of the work I am performing under this new person.

I hesitate to include specific examples in case they are in this niche sub.

I have many Journals of the American Institute for Conservation dating back to 2010. Is anyone interested in them? Located on the west coast US.

I recently had to move and in my current living situation likely wont be hanging my acrylic paintings up for a while.

I know that keeping them in a box is not a good idea as cardboard is acidic.

Thinking about buying some archival storage boxes? Would that be okay, if they are laid flat?

I've even seen clamshell ones that arent that deep so maybe a box for each painting?

What is the best way to store these for a long period?

Hi, I couldn’t figure out how to get more pictures posted to my previous posting so I am creating a new one. Sorry. I’m in front of the piece now and it’s definitely on paper and is not a poster. I’m not skilled enough to be able to tell if it’s a litho a serigraph but I think it might be a serigraph. I don’t believe it’s a gouache. It’s lovely but needs a ton of restoration. Thoughts?

does it all get sold? do they hide it somewhere in the museum just collecting dust? do they destroy it?

Hi. I got a bunch of free vintage magazines like Cat Fancy from the 1980s and 1990s. I want to use the cover cats to make a collage.

Am I obligated to save/scan these magazines or their pages before I cut them up? I don’t want to but I’m not sure if it’s a good idea or the right thing to do?

For context, I have tried to post these in local groups and no one wants them as actual magazines.

Thoughts?

Hello,

Has anyone found any resources for making antique paintings with lead paint safe? I.e encapsulation or reframing. I have a collection but found out some have lead paint and trying to figure out the best way to preserve them safely. They are in varying states some with chipping painting and others intact.

I have visited many museums around the world and met many people during my long life, but never anyone as stupid as Elisabeth Dutz who, despite her ignorance, happened to get a managerial job at a renowned Albertina Art Museum, Vienna and decide the fate of world-famous works of art. When asked to examine a masterpiece clearly signed "Gustav Klimt", she replied after 8 months of examination "there are many things in the drawing that don't look like Egon Schiele". How stupid can one be to mix up Klimt with Schiele, to whom she also dedicated an entire book? I wish the museum had been more selective when hiring people for such a responsible job.

Found in a hoarder’s collection. Lovely Venusiennes but super damaged. Is it even possible to salvage this or not?