Panels are not simply the convenient carriers of the painter’s
invention. Panels matterin themselves, in the same way that canvases
began to matter to us in Greenwich in 1974, and in the same way that doc-
uments, preparatory drawings, underdrawings, paint layers, inventories,
and archives matter to us today. All of these materials contribute to a com-
plete account of a work of art—from its commission, planning, prepara-
tion, execution, and delivery, to its ownership as a cherished possession, to
its precarious survival, and, finally, to a present-day existence as cultural
artifact, social record, and signifier of individual genius.
It is important to emphasize the totality of the work of art. While
a painting may be a sublime creation of its maker’s aesthetic sensibility, it
is also a material document with a unique character given by the method
of its making and the circumstances of its survival. When an artwork’s
history permits, its continuity over time can be thrilling. If we are lucky,
we can appreciate a structure essentially unaltered since it left the artist’s
hand. It is our function as conservators to preserve, stabilize, consolidate,
and repair where necessary—and it is also our responsibility to interrupt
that continuity from the artist’s hand as little as we possibly can.
The conservation of panel paintings must begin and end with the
integrity of the historical object and the work of art. If we criticize, often
justifiably, the failures of the past to address this requirement—as well as
criticize the excessive interventions of our predecessors—then we must be
accountable ourselves to the judgments of those who follow us. If we
inform ourselves of all the historical contexts surrounding these works, if
we ask the right questions, consider the best choices, and justify our actions,
then the future of the panel paintings in our care should be assured.xxii Bomford