On 19 October 2025, the 8th European Day of Restoration will take place with the motto ‘We preserve what moves us’.

This year we are taking the public into our everyday museum life with the #TeamPick Conservation format. Over the past ten weeks, conservators from the Doerner Institute had the opportunity to share very personal moments from their encounters with the artworks: on tours of the exhibition rooms to check the condition of the artworks, during art-technological examinations under the microscope, while preparing loans in the studio, and in questions of preventive conservation and restoration measures on the paintings.

Our #TeamPick Conservation series comes to an end on European Restoration Day. 
You can find all the posts here in the blog – a colourful mosaic of expertise, care, team spirit and passion for preserving our cultural heritage! 

For more information about the day of action, visit www.tag-der-restaurierung.de or check out social media under the hashtag #TagDerRestaurierung. 

With his painting ‘Die Erde von der Maximiliana aus gesehen’ (The Earth as seen from the Maximiliana), created in 1963 and measuring only 35 x 27 cm, Max Ernst takes me into his fascinating artistic cosmos and into a strange world where I time and again can discover new secrets. In his creative ingenuity, the artist uses simple yet versatile materials such as acrylic glass, paper and oil paint, which he employs with virtuosity, succeeding in creating a plastic space in which I can dream.”

Florian Schwemer,
Conservator, Sammlung Moderne Kunst (Modern Art Collection) in the Pinakothek der Moderne, Doerner Institut

Claudia of Valois (1547–1575) did not have an easy life. The daughter of the French king was married to the Duke of Lorraine when she was still a child. She was the mother of nine children and died at the age of only 27. Her personality is described as introverted and reserved, and she often sought refuge with her mother, Catherine de Medici, at the French court. I contemplate her fate as I remove layer after layer of heavily yellowed natural resin varnish, difficult-to-remove old retouches and the remains of stained egg white varnish from the portrait. Beneath the layers of degraded material, not only do the delicate pink and bluish shades of the temples and eye area reappear, but also a small dimple at the left corner of her mouth: Claudia is smiling again.

Marlena Schneider,
Post-graduate intern at the Doerner Institut (painting conservator)

During weekly condition checks, I walk slowly through the galleries, inspecting each artwork for even the smallest signs of change. In the quiet early hours, I often pause – like today – before Brigid Polk (1971) by Gerhard Richter. In the dim, soft light, she sits nude on a chest of drawers, gazing outward through a veil of blur, with Bathers (1967), also by the artist, hanging behind her – echoing the long history of the female nude in art. This blur denies me clarity; the portrait offers no clear identity or exact likeness – only her calm presence in vulnerability. I try, however imperfectly, to carry that openness with me: to live not in fixed lines, but in the shifting beauty of the undefined. The unknown may unsettle some, but to me, it offers a quiet invitation to live freely, without expectation.

Ema Gerliciová,
Post-graduate intern at the Doerner Institut

I am fascinated by François Boucher's Resting Girl – a work full of tenderness, sensuality and technical sophistication, which is masterfully composed in its effortlessness. Through in-depth analysis of his painting technique, the pigments used and the layer structure, I was able to delve deep into the world of the Old Master – and in doing so, I discovered a phenomenon that provides an insightful explanation for the fragile state of preservation today. For me, the meticulous work of conservation and restoration is far more than pure technique: it is a careful dialogue with the artwork, in which every step requires respect and precision. During the many quiet hours of intensive observation, a space for reflection opens up for me – about the artist, about the representation of idealised body images and about what it means today to show and see nudity in public.

Ulrike Fischer, 
Conservator Alte Pinakothek, Doerner Institut

The small-format wooden panel by Martin Schongauer (1450–1491) impresses me above all with its many details, some of which were painted with just a single brush hair and are best seen under a microscope. For example, a flock of sheep can be spotted in the landscape behind the stable, and at least four strawberry plants can be counted at the bottom of the picture. However, the most beautiful detail of the scene depicting a young family is hidden in the underdrawing, which was applied to the primer in preparation for painting. With the help of infrared reflectography, a non-destructive imaging technique, we can see this detailed sketch of the composition and, on closer inspection, even a change that Martin Schongauer made during the painting process. The artist had originally placed Mary's left hand protectively around Jesus's belly, lending the scene even more intimacy. I am currently conducting the art-technological examination and am very excited to see if there will be further discoveries of this kind. The painting will then be restored, including the removal of the yellowed varnish. This may even make some details more legible than in their current state of preservation.

Laura Hack, 
Conservator Alte Pinakothek, Doerner Institut

As a child, I never thought about how works of art are created: they just seemed to be there. In 2002, as a conservator, I was able to witness Olaf Metzel and his team creating the sculpture “Reise nach Jerusalem” (Musical Chairs) here in the Pinakothek der Moderne. He shaped the colourful Plexiglas sheets using intense heat until they had the form he wanted. Before the sculpture, with its 359 individual parts, was dismantled in 2006, I documented it using geodetic plans so that we could rebuild the sculpture true to the original in 2017 – as though it had never been away. For me, the beauty of my profession is that every work of art brings new questions and challenges. I find the solutions through a variety of inspirations, be it archaeological excavation sites or Lego building instructions.

Maike Grün, 
Conservator Pinakothek der Moderne, Doerner Institut

At the very beginning of my scientific traineeship, during one of my first gallery maintenance shifts, I found myself lingering unexpectedly long in front of Vincent van Gogh's “La Plaine près d'Auvers” while cleaning the protective glass. In the impasto elevations of the paint layer, I noticed impressions of fabric structures – a detail that immediately captivated me. These traces indicate that Van Gogh's paintings were at times leaned directly against each other or stacked. It might even be possible to reconstruct which paintings had direct contact with each other through systematic investigation. For me as a conservator, it is precisely these seemingly inconspicuous findings that hold a great fascination: the material-technical clues that contain silent information about the creation, handling and history of a work of art. Even today, I still take every opportunity to take a close look at the surface – always on the lookout for further impressions and traces.

Katja Lorenz, 
Post-graduate intern, Doerner Institut

As a restorer of painting frames, I am looking forward to examining an extraordinary frame belonging to the painting ‘Holy Family’ by Hans Rottenhammer the Elder. This frame stands out due to its colourful relief inlays, in this case delicate carved tulips, daffodils, carnations and roses, framed by black-brown flamed wood imitating ebony. Comparable ‘Eger relief inlays’ can be found on cabinet cupboards, board games, caskets and individual pictures, which were made in the 17th and 18th centuries by a few cabinetmakers in the town of Eger and were sought-after objects for art chambers and gifts to noble courts throughout Europe. The upcoming examinations will seek to answer questions such as: Can the frame be attributed to the Eger relief carvings, and if so, perhaps to a specific Eger workshop, such as that of Adam Eck (1604–1664)? Is there a hidden signature on the frame? What was the original colour of the flowers and leaves, and what was used to dye the wood? Are there any indications of modifications, as this frame may have originally framed a relief inlay picture? In the archives of the Pinakotheken, there is a single reference to the fact that the frame, which was already in the collection at the time, was placed around the painting in 1928. The painting and frame are currently well preserved in storage, which is unfortunate for visitors but offers the best possible protection from a conservation point of view.

Angela Meincke, 
Frame Conservator, Doerner Institut

Almost 4,000 works from our collections are on loan to public institutions. One of my tasks is to look after these so-called permanent loans from our modern art collection. This painting by Fritz Winter was returned to us after many years at the State Chancellery. An examination of the reverse side revealed a surprise: the work, listed in the inventory as ‘Schwarz vor Gelb’ (Black before Yellow), had been handwritten by Fritz Winter on the canvas with the words ‘Aktives Schwarz vor Gelb’ (Active Black before Yellow) – a new, more nuanced title! 
The surface of the painting has changed over time: the black shows a white coating consisting of microscopic crystals – these so-called “efflorescences” are usually components of the binding agent that migrate to the surface. The painting comes alive through the stark contrast between yellow and black, but also through the contrast between strictly monochrome colour fields and those with ambiguous colouring, such as the red-brown fields in the upper part of the painting. The efflorescence is not harmful to the painting, but it alters the original contrasts: the strong black appears blotchy and cloudy in places, and the contrast between clear and ambiguous colours is undermined – a reason to remove the crystals. The surface treatment is carefully carried out after analysing, mapping and evaluating all contemporary traces so as not to disturb the 1950s look, which is also reflected in the hand-made studio mouldings.

Irene Glanzer, 
Conservator Pinakothek der Moderne, Doerner Institut

When it comes to the conditions under which artworks are exhibited or stored, close cooperation between the departments of preventive conservation and restoration is required, as the requirements for humidity, temperature and light vary depending on the material composition and condition of the artworks. Today, we – Melanie Bauernfeind, responsible for preventive conservation, and Carolin Vogt, conservator – are working to create the best possible conditions for the preservation of the paintings exhibited in the 12 state galleries. However, our first joint project was Raffaellino del Garbo's ‘Lamentation of Christ’ in the Alte Pinakothek. During conservation and restoration, the initial focus was on stabilising the paint layer on the wooden support. Numerous small cavities had formed, which had to be secured and filled. When yellowed varnishes and colour additions from the 19th century were also removed during the restoration, the original painting with its vibrant colours and exceptionally well-preserved red lacquers came to light. As red lacquers are very sensitive to light, preventive conservation came into play. On the one hand, during restoration, the parts of the painting that were not being worked on were consistently protected from exposure to light. On the other hand, we started a series of measurements to record both the colour values of the varnishes for later control measurements and the light dose. This impressive work reminds us of what makes the work at the Doerner Institute so special: interdisciplinary collaboration with the common goal of preserving works of art for future generations.

Melanie Bauernfeind,
Preventive conservation, Doerner Institut

Carolin Vogt,
Conservator, Doerner Institut