Art Restoration

We joked yesterday on Twitter about hoping patrons try to keep their balance in the museum, despite the fact that there's no "you break it, you buy it" rule in place, but yesterday's New York Times has a great in-depth look at what, exactly, may have to be done to restore the early Picasso painting that was recently damaged at the Met. It's considerably more complicated than the layperson may realize, especially in cases where, as the article points out, multiple paintings may exist on the same canvas. Conservators and art restorers can do phenomenal things, but it's a rather involved process. Slate has different but equally interested details of some of what may be involved.