Some of the most vivid pigments in medieval manuscripts were manufactured through alchemy, an experimental practice that predates modern chemistry. Today, chemistry deepens our knowledge about paint colors, their identification, and potential continued transformations.

Infrared cameras now reveal concealed drawings under the surface of many of the Renaissance's most revered paintings. Learn how this radical drawing technique was done.

Used for the storage and shipment of grains, wine, and other goods, as well as in the all-male Greek drinking party, known as the symposium, ancient Greek vases were decorated with a variety of subjects ranging from scenes of everyday life to the tales of heroes and gods. The two most popular techniques of vase decoration were the black-figure technique, so-named because the figures were painted black, and the red-figure technique, in which the figures were left the red color of the clay. The black-figure technique developed around 700 B.C. and remained the most popular Greek pottery style until about 530 B.C., when the red-figure technique was developed, eventually surpassing it in popularity. This video illustrates the techniques used in the making and decorating of a black-figure amphora (storage jar) in the Art Institute of Chicago's collection. This video was produced with the generous support of a Long Range Fund grant provided by the Community Associates of the Art Institute of Chicago. It was created for LaunchPad, a program of digital interpretive materials that supplement the viewing of works of art on display in the Art Institute of Chicago's galleries. Created by Getty Museum.

Learn how tapestries were made in the time of Louis XIV and are still made today. Explore the process of tapestry weaving at the Gobelins Manufactory in Paris, where historical techniques dating to the time of Louis XIV are used to make contemporary works of art. Video chapters: Introduction - 0:04 Designing a Tapestry - 1:08 Colorful Threads - 2:17 Preparing a Loom - 4:36 Weaving - 6:15 This video was produced in conjunction with the exhibition "Woven Gold: Tapestries of Louis XIV," on view at the Getty Center, December 15, 2016–May 1, 2016. http://www.getty.edu/art/exhibitions/french_tapestries/.

Created by Getty Museum and the Colección Patricia Phelps de Cisneros. Discover how Argentine and Brazilian artists in the 1940s broke from linear perspective to create art in unique shapes, starting the Concrete Art movement. This video is one of three that accompanied the “Making Art Concrete: Works from Argentina and Brazil in the Colección Patricia Phelps de Cisneros” (September 16, 2017 – February 11, 2018) at the Getty Museum. For more information visit http://www.getty.edu/art/exhibitions/cisneros. Created by Getty Museum.

Combining text and photography, contemporary artist Carrie Mae Weems explores the notion of a narrative within her work. Created by Getty Museum.

Watch a sculptor demonstrate the use of traditional tools—such as the tooth chisel, the point chisel, the drill, and the rasp—as he creates a finished figure from a block of marble. Created by Getty Museum.

Adriaen de Vries, a 17th century Dutch sculptor, often used "direct lost-wax casting." Because the wax is "lost," each bronze cast is unique. If the casting fails, the sculptor begins again. Created by Getty Museum.

Bronze, a combination of copper, tin, and other metals, has long been prized for its ability to register fine details. Watch indirect lost-wax casting, a technique developed by artists in the 1500s. Created by Getty Museum.

Created by Getty Museum and the Colección Patricia Phelps de Cisneros. Explore key methods Concrete Artists in Brazil and Argentina used to create perfectly straight edges in paint. This video is one of three that accompanied the “Making Art Concrete: Works from Argentina and Brazil in the Colección Patricia Phelps de Cisneros” (September 16, 2017 – February 11, 2018) at the Getty Museum. For more information visit http://www.getty.edu/art/exhibitions/cisneros. Created by Getty Museum.

Chivalric customs arose from the medieval knight's code of conduct, and were gradually adopted by aristocrats and society as a whole. Learn about the elements of the code and some surprising early applications, as depicted in illuminated manuscripts. Created by Getty Museum.

Learn about the work of the Getty Museum's paintings conservation team. Created by Getty Museum.

A paper conservator balances the historical integrity of a drawing while preserving the appearance intended by the artist. Watch a Getty conservator analyze and treat an old master drawing. Created by Getty Museum.

Charcoal drawing techniques were perfected in France in the 19th century and taken to new expressive heights by artists such as Georges Seurat and Odilon Redon. This video includes a demonstration of those techniques. This video was produced in conjunction with the exhibition "Noir: The Romance of Black in 19th-Century French Drawings and Prints", on view at the Getty Center, February 9–May 15, 2016.

A short overview of the technical examination and emergency treatment of the Ghent Altarpiece, undertaken with grant support from the Getty Foundation.

Ancient glass makers near Jerusalem discovered they could inflate hot glass to make vessels quickly and more cheaply. Watch this ancient technique (footage from the Corning Museum of Glass). Created by Getty Museum.

Wood panel was the support most often used for painting before canvas replaced it at the end of the 1500s. Artists applied gold ground and expensive pigments to the most splendid panel paintings. Created by Getty Museum.

Wood panel was the support most often used for painting before canvas replaced it at the end of the 1500s. Artists applied gold ground and expensive pigments to the most splendid panel paintings. Created by Getty Museum.