Come behind the scenes and enter the NGV’s conservation studios to witness The Gospel of Theophanes.
The earliest example of book production, in the National Gallery of Victoria’s collection, The Gospel of Theophanes is a Byzantine illuminated manuscript written in miniscule Greek that was produced in Constantinople (current day Istanbul) ca. 1125-1150. The manuscript is a deluxe rendition of the Four Gospels, with intricate and ornate designs created using precious earth metals and minerals, inks sourced from beetles and parchment sourced from beasts.
The presentation explores how this rare manuscript was constructed by employing conservation research and analysis for a general audience. Spaces limited.
This program is part of Melbourne Art Book Fair 2026
Ruth Shervington graduated from Camberwell College of Arts, London in 1993. After several years working in a private studio in London, Ruth took up the position of paper conservator at the National Gallery of Victoria. In the 30 years Ruth has been with the NGV, she has pursued various avenues of interest and in more recent times co-authored a digital book on Goya’s printmaking materials and techniques. For the NGV’s 2023 Rembrandt exhibition, Ruth presented information on Rembrandt’s use of paper which has links to the watermark research undertaken with her team for artists Rembrandt and Durer.
Yvonne (Bonnie) Hearn is a paper conservator at the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV). Bonnie has worked as a paper and book conservator for various Melbourne cultural institutions and completed Fellowships at the Morgan Library & Museum in New York (2018-2020) and NGV (2016-2018). She holds a BA in Fine Arts (2011) specialising in Printmaking and an MA of Cultural Materials Conservation (2013) specialising in Paper Conservation. Bonnie’s background and interests are printmaking, bookbinding, and paper-based art, working with both contemporary and historical mediums. In addition to the analytical study of the Gospel of Theophanes, Bonnie’s research includes study of watermarks within Rembrandt prints, Hokusai woodblock impressions, Persian album leaves and book arts, and fibre-tip pen drawings by Walmajarri artist Jimmy Pike.