How can research and new technologies help us discover aspects of works of art that are not visible to the naked eye?

La ciència de l'art (The Science of Art) is a documentary series that invites us to take a closer look at the work of the Museum’s conservation and restoration teams and the research they carry out to discover new aspects of works in the collection.

The series follows Museum professionals as they undertake an almost detective-like investigation in which science and new technologies become tools for studying the works, uncovering information that is not visible to the naked eye and, in some cases, recovering what seemed to have been lost. The series also offers access to workshops, laboratories, archives and other Museum spaces that are usually inaccessible to the public.

In this activity for Amics del MNAC, we will watch two of the six episodes and learn first-hand how this documentary project was carried out: how the investigations were conceived, how the cases were selected and how the work of the Museum’s teams was documented.

The episodes we will watch are:

• El penediment d’Isidre Nonell (The Regret of Isidre Nonell). The mysterious reverse side of a portrait by the Modernist painter Isidre Nonell opens the door to a tragic story that was to have a profound impact on the artist and reveals previously unknown aspects of his career.
• El periple del marbre de Sant Pere de Rodes (The Journey of the Sant Pere de Rodes Marble). We follow the Museum team as they investigate and reveal, for the first time, that the ancient marble elements reused by the Master of Cabestany came from Carrara (Italy), Proconnesus (now Marmara Island, Turkey) and Saint-Béat (France). This episode presents other discoveries featured in the exhibition Sant Pere de Rodes and the Master of Cabestany, which was on display at the Museu Nacional until 29 June.

After the screening, we will have the opportunity to discuss the episodes and explore in greater depth the research and challenges presented in them.

An opportunity to discover what lies behind some of the MNAC’s most fascinating works and understand how the dialogue between art, science and technology can transform the way we look at and interpret them.

With the participation of:

• Carme Ramells, Head of the Conservation and Preventive Conservation Department
• Roser Toll, journalist and documentary filmmaker at Cábala Produccions, director of La ciència de l'art (The Science of Art)
• Laia Pérez, Community Action, Public Programmes and Communications Department

Presented by Guillem d’Efak, Head of Community Action, Public Programmes and Communications.

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