As visitors look through a glass window, restorers work diligently to preserve one of Portugal’s national treasures. Paints, microscopes, X-ray machines, trays, tools, computers, frames, and tables fill the space, all set up to do this important work.
The “St. Vincent Panels” under restoration at the National Antique Art Museum of Lisbon. (Courtesy of National Antique Art Museum in Lisbon)
Since June 1, 2020, an international group of experts has been analyzing, scanning, and retouching one of Portugal’s most important cultural artifacts: the “St. Vincent Panels” (circa 1470). In Portuguese, the work is known as “Painéis de São Vicente.” Anyone can watch in real-time as conservation experts restore the polyptych (many-paneled painting) at the National Antique Art Museum of Lisbon, Portugal….