Eli5: how were important paintings and statues from the renaissance era such as the Mona Lisa and David survive for such a long time without any major damage?

Question

Eli5: how were important paintings and statues from the renaissance era such as the Mona Lisa and David survive for such a long time without any major damage?

In: Other

Answer 1

Really good preservation: right humidity, temperature, avoiding disturbing the paint. General respect for the stuff because it was culturally important even at the time. And, hopefully, decent restoration.

Also, really good technique: wood and/or canvas preparation, primer, letting each oil paint layer dry properly, quality materials from wood to varnish.

(There are 100yo paintings that look like they’re about to flake off, and there are medieval murals that have only faded a little bit. Even during Renaissance – look at Leonardo’s Last Supper, where he experimented with primers bc he was quirky like that, and at Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel, where he did everything by the book. Technique is seriously important.)