When Aleksandra Hola visited the Getty Center for the first time in 2009 as a young paintings conservator, there was only one way for her to describe the experience.
“It was like a Christmas present.”
Hola was one of dozens around the world to receive scholarships to attend an inaugural symposium that breathed new life into a disappearing profession—the structural conservation of panel paintings (works executed on wood). A 2008 survey had found that less than 10 people among the larger panel paintings profession worldwide had the skills needed to complete a full treatment on such objects, and these highly specialized experts were reaching the end of their careers without a new generation waiting in the wings. Many masterpieces have panel supports, and museums depended on these conservators for the artworks’ survival.
In response to this crisis, the Getty Foundation launched the Panel Paintings Initiative in 2008 in partnership with Getty’s Conservation Institute and Museum to train and mentor young professionals while at the same time preserving important works of art. The 2009 symposium was the first of many residencies, workshops, and convenings that brought these generations of conservators together.
At the Center, Hola met titans in the field of conservation and presented on her own work at the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków. Her participation not only sharpened her conservation skills but also created friendships, opportunities, and professional connections that shaped her career. “I was amazed that I could have discussions with the stars of conservation and that they treated me as somebody on the same level—this is very important for transferring knowledge,” says Hola.
The summer following the symposium, Hola helped organize another workshop in Kraków, using Getty aid to bring these experts to peers in her home region. Then another grant provided her with a conservation residency at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, working with one of the world’s foremost structural panel paintings conservators, George Bisacca.
“When you work with an expert, with an exceptional person, you are like a baby that observes every move,” says Hola. “How to hold the chisel, how to keep it on the table, how to sharpen it, how to lift the painting, put it back—none of this you can find in books. You only learn it through observing.”
While at the Met, Hola assisted with the conservation of Pacino di Bonaguida’s The Virgin and Child with Saints, an early Renaissance altarpiece painting that was in urgent need of treatment. The project allowed her to improve her hands-on skills when dealing with fragile works of art while continuing to learn from masters of the trade. Once this labor was complete, the piece was exhibited at the Center in 2013 as part of Florence at the Dawn of the Renaissance, and Hola got to see her conservation accomplishment displayed on the walls of the very institution that made it possible.
Today, Hola is a member of the Faculty of Conservation and Restoration of Works of Art at the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków. She teaches early career panel paintings conservators herself and was able to bring courses in pertinent subject areas into the academy curriculum. Her relationship with her students is also influenced by the Getty experience. “Right now I’m supervising a master’s degree project, and I try to build a collegial relationship so the student can feel free to ask questions, or just call me with something. This is all part of the learning.”
As documented in a 2018 final report, the Panel Paintings Initiative provided training to dozens of early career conservators like Hola and aided in the conservation of several masterpieces, including The Ghent Altarpiece (1432) by Hubert and Jan van Eyck, Adam and Eve (1507) by Albrecht Dürer, Last Supper (1546) by Giorgio Vasari, and The Triumph of the Eucharist (1626) by Peter Paul Rubens. A free publication on the 2008 conference, including a report on the needs assessment is available online.
