National Gallery of Ireland details six-step restoration of vandalized Monet

The National Gallery of Ireland published a detailed account of the conservation process for Claude Monet's 'Argenteuil Basin with a Single Sailboat', vandalized in 2011. The restoration, guided by contemporary conservation principles, did not aim to return the painting to its original state but to preserve its material history. Steps included collecting paint fragments, analyzing pigments and binders (oil paints, no glue, synthetic resin varnish), repairing the canvas tear with a reversible adhesive developed over 40 years, cleaning accumulated dirt without removing a 19th-century varnish, adding a secondary support canvas, and filling over 100 gaps with tinted gesso and watercolor. The work remains identifiable under UV light. The museum consulted international studies, including a 2007 restoration of Monet's 'Bridge at Argenteuil' at the Musée d'Orsay.