Biography

Vanessa Otero holds a Master in Conservation Science (2010) from the Department of Conservation and Restoration (FCT/UNL) with a bachelor’s in Technological Chemistry (2007) from the Faculty of Sciences of Universidade de Lisboa. Currently, she is finishing her PhD in Conservation Science at the Department of Conservation and Restoration and REQUIMTE-LAQV (FCT/UNL). She is a team member of the interdisciplinary project - “Crossing Borders: History, materials and techniques of Portuguese painters from 1850-1918”. Her main research interest is the study of painting materials following the HART approach. She studies the manufacture of pigments through the investigation of the Winsor & Newton 19th century archive, which enables the production of reference materials with as much historical accuracy as possible. The multi-analytical characterization of these reference materials and well-designed photodegradation studies contributes to a better knowledge of the pigments and assess the condition and the original appearance of a painting.