Working title: “Greener” Methods for Cleaning Painted Surfaces
Supervisor: Professor Clare Richardson
Advisor: Professor Aviva Burnstock
Funded by UKRI as part of the EU Horizon-CL2-2021 project 鈥楪oGREEN: green strategies to conserve the past and preserve the future of Cultural Heritage鈥
Current PhD research focuses on the investigation of the use of green methods for the cleaning of painted surfaces, with a particular focus on the use of “green” solvents and the assessment of their efficacy using a range of analytical techniques. The final aim of her work is to facilitate the wider adoption of greener practices in training programmes, thereby fostering a more environmentally conscious approach to cultural heritage conservation.
Education
- PhD, History of Art, 91影视 (2023-present)
- Master鈥檚 Degree in Conservation Science and Technology for Cultural Heritage (2020鈥2023)
Department of Environmental Sciences, Informatics and Statistics, Ca鈥 Foscari University of Venice, Italy
Thesis: Madder lakes: how the synthesis鈥 conditions affect the lakes鈥 structure and degradation pattern - Bachelor鈥檚 degree in Technologies for the Conservation and the Restoration (2017鈥2020)
Department of Molecular Sciences and Nanosystems, Ca鈥 Foscari University of Venice, Italy
Thesis: Multi-analytical study on the pictorial cycle Stories of the life of Saint George
Publications
- Menegaldo B., Richardson听C., Burnstock听A., Cunningham-Johns H., 鈥淓valuation of ‘Greener’ Alternatives for Wax-Resin Adhesive Removal from Canvas Paintings in De-Lining鈥. In The Dutch Method Unfolded: The history of wax-resin lining, its effects on paintings, and consequences for conservation,听Archetype, forthcoming 2026.
Conference contributions
- Menegaldo B., “Evaluating Greener Alternatives for Polyvinyl Butyral (PVB) Reduction in Wall Painting Conservation“. Conference paper presented at: Greener Cleaning for Cultural Heritage; 2026 January 22; Bologna, Italy.
- Menegaldo B., “Evaluating 鈥淕reener鈥 Alternatives for Coating Reduction in Wall Painting Conservation“. Conference paper presented at: 鈥淚nternational Symposium on Removal of Degraded Conservation Materials from Museum Murals鈥; 2025 July 15; Xi鈥檃n, China.
- Menegaldo B., Richardson C., Prati S., Ramacciotti F., Focarete M.L., Gualandi C., “Evaluating Greener Alternatives for Polyvinyl Butyral (PVB) Removal in Wall Painting Conservation“. Poster presented at: NHSF Conference, Trends in Heritage Science; 2025 July 10; London, UK.
- Menegaldo B., Aleccia D., Nuyts G., Amato A., Orsega E. F., Moro G., Balliana E., De Wael K., Moretto L. M., Beltran V., 鈥淪tories of the Life of Saint George鈥 by Barbelli: Study of painting materials and techniques. Poster presented at: Technart 2023 Lisbon. International conference on analytical techniques in art and cultural heritage; 2023 May 7-12; Lisbon, Portugal.
Research interest
- Conservation and heritage science
- Spectroscopic techniques
- Pigment synthesis and chemistry
- Green cleaning methods