Rubens is a titan of Western art. The task of restoring his paintings is equally gigantic

ANTWERP, Belgium (AP) — When an iconic painting is in need of restoration, it is usually taken to a studio to be worked on in seclusion.

In the case of a massive Peter Paul Rubens masterpiece in the artist's Belgian hometown, the studio had to be taken to the painting. In the largest room of Antwerp's Royal Fine Arts Museum, the restorers have the eyes of visitors on their backs and — sometimes — criticism ringing in their ears.

At 6 meters (19.6 feet), the “Enthroned Madonna Adored by Saints,” a lush swirl of flesh, fabric and drapes, stands taller than an adult giraffe. A team of six restorers is poring over it for a two-year cleanup, which is scheduled to end this fall. Compare that to Rubens himself, who could put paint to canvas on such a massive work in only a few weeks.

No wonder such panache, the grand gesture in a simple brushstroke, left all in awe — then and now. Rubens, perhaps Antwerp's most famous son, painted the work in 1628 in the studio of his house in the city.

“It's such a flamboyant painter that, yeah, we love it,” said Ellen Keppens, grasping for the proper effusive words. Together with her twin sister, Jill, Ellen is leading an international team of six women restorers.

On a recent morning, they were applying undertones to the Baroque masterpiece, sometimes crawling along the wood-paneled floor to apply a touch here or there. Later, they had to crouch under a metal staircase before heading up to the top corner for another dab of retouching there. Who ever said art restoration was not physical labor?

“Like our colleague says, she's become really good at yoga,” said Keppens of a team member. “You notice that you can bend in all kind of angles in front of a painting.” When a crick in her neck gets too bad, she can just walk...