Two paintings from our collection have taken a little trip overseas. Virginia Dalrymple and Paolo and Francesca by G F Watts have gone to the San Domenico Museum in Forlì, Italy for their exhibition Pre-Raphaelites: Modern Renaissance. We documented some of the preparation that went into getting the works ready for their trip.

Before they hit the road, both paintings needed to be condition-checked. The frames also needed to be glazed and conserved so they were ready to travel. We called upon conservators Sally Marriott and Tom Proctor for the job. They examined each painting in detail. They looked for any cracks or losses in the paint. They also checked for frame instabilities. Issues like this are common in oil paintings of this age. They are usually old and stable, a testament to the decades a painting has lived through. It's important to keep a detailed record of a painting before it travels. It helps us identify any new issues.

The frames of our paintings are precious too, and are often the originals, chosen by G F Watts himself. Due to their age, they can be quite fragile and need to be handled very carefully. Both frames were checked, conserved, glazed and sealed, creating a microclimate. This means the conditions inside the frame stay stable. They provide another layer of protection from the outside world. This is crucial when a painting goes to a country with a different climate than the UK, like Italy. There, fast changes in temperature and humidity can harm the painting.

Once all the work was finished on the frames, the glass was fitted and they were ready for packing up. Art handlers Gander & White came to pack the works and get them on their way to Italy. The paintings were first wrapped in a layer of tissue, then a plastic wrap, before being carefully placed into custom-built travel crates that fit them perfectly.

The paintings safely arrived in Forlì, and were displayed alongside several other works by G F Watts. So many works, in fact, there was a whole room dedicated to him!

If you're a Pre-Raphaelite lover and happen to be in or near Forlì in Italy before 30 June 2024, we highly recommend you pay the San Domenico Museum a visit. Pre-Raphaelites: Modern Renaissance explores the influence of Italian Renaissance art on the British Pre-Raphaelite movement, and includes over 300 works from celebrated artists such as Botticelli, Michelangelo, John Everett Millais, William Morris and Frederic Leighton.