Scientific research and preventive conservation

The preservation of the collection is the main goal of the Museu Picasso of Barcelona, a monographic centre and benchmark for the artist's early work, where every day we face the challenge of knowing and preventing the deterioration of the materials present in his work.
As a Museum fully integrated in the 21st century, we take actions to connect rigorous research with the conservation and dissemination of the collections. Our challenge is to study the materials and techniques used by Picasso and share this documentary source and our technical experience.
The history of contemporary art cannot be conceived without the complicity of different views and that is why, to carry out scientific studies, we count on multidisciplinary collaboration through agreements with university institutions, museums and European projects. We study, analyse and finally carry out actions. The preventive conservation and restoration service works in two ways, directly and indirectly: we do curative or restorative conservation and preventive conservation. In addition to the scientific study, other indirect actions are aimed at preventive conservation. In order to avoid any risk situation for the collections, we control the environmental conditions of the rooms, the lighting of the works and design specific frames to strengthen their protection.
The transport and packaging of the works is another priority area. The worldwide interest in the artist and the exponential increase in international exhibitions represent a challenge in which conservators-restorers work with companies specialised in designing packing cases and specific transport procedures.