**Matthew Cushman**, project conservator at Yale University, and **Jon L. Seydl**, director of curatorial affairs and curator of European art, discuss what conservation has revealed about this 17th century painting by Flemmish artist Anthony van Dyck. Scientific research and the cleaning have revealed Van Dyck's process, including numerous changes to the costume, to keep up with evolving fashions, and led to the discovery of the picture’s date. View painting: Anthony van Dyck, Flemish, 1599-1641[** Portrait of a Man**](http://www.worcesterart.org/exhibitions/jeppson-idealab-portrait-of-a-man-anthony-van-dyck/ "vandyke") (before treatment) 1619, oil on wood On loan from The Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Antwerp.
Matthew Cushman was the Andrew W. Mellon Fellow in Paintings Conservation from 2010 – 2014 the Worcester Art Museum, in Worcester, MA. He contributed to research on the cleaning, imaging, and monitoring of paintings as well the conservation treatment of works by Giovanni Lanfranco and Anthony van Dyck, among others. Cushman's current work focuses on the treatment of fifteen portraits of Haitian rulers in the collection of the Yale Peabody Museum, training visiting conservation assistants from Haiti, and conducting research related to the Haitian Conservation project.