With the development of technical advances in conservation, more comprehensive overall treatment philosophies evolve, and the museum community finds that it must adjust to a new activism among conservators. Museums are compelled to tackle conservation problems in a more coordinated, rational, step by step manner. Promising technical advances support the new attitudes. Briefly presented is a new system for analyzing the composition of paint and varnish layers, used in conjunction with a system for cleaning based on enzyme soaps, developed by Richard Wolbers. The effects of new materials and new dialogues are summarized.