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On May 2nd, I was at the Mauritshuis Museum in The Hague Netherlands and was able to visit the display of the public restoration of The Goldfinch by Carel Fabritius.

The Goldfinch (1654) by Carel Fabritius (1622-1654) is one of the most famous 17th-century Dutch paintings. The Mauritshuis is restoring the panel for the Fabritius exhibition in 2004.

Conservator Jørgen Wadum is removing the severely discoloured varnish in order to reveal the original colours.

This shows the incredible capability of the 10D in low light situations.

Shot on May 2, 2003 with a Canon 10D and the EF 35-350mm lens. I was using a Bogen monopod with ball head and wishing I could have used a full tripod.

This is a shot of the overall workstation. On the right was a PC with a good scanner and some additional hardware which I assume was for color scanning and evaluation.

2003:05:02 14:50:01
35.0mm
1/90 sec, f/4.5
Metering: Average
Exp comp: -1/2
ISO: 400

The following is a good shot of Conservator Jørgen Wadum at work.

2003:05:02 14:39:11
120.0mm
1/30 sec, f/4.5
Metering: Average
Exp comp: -1/2
ISO: 400

For a better look at the painting and the artist. The full sized image is frankly incredible as you can see the artist's paint strokes. This as been "sharpened more" in photoshop.

2003:05:02 14:40:57
160.0mm
1/20 sec, f/4.5
Metering: Average
Exp comp: -1/2
ISO: 400

And, finally, getting in really tight so you can see the level of detail that this man is working with. From about 15 feet away. This sort of thing makes me start wishing for IS...

2003:05:02 14:44:27
350.0mm
1/45 sec, f/5.6
Metering: Average
Exp comp: -1/2
ISO: 400