100 thoughts on “Fine Art Conservation – The Cleaning Process”
OMGOODNESS! This was amazing truly brought the life back into those adorable little girls beforehand it was kinda creepy specially with those dead eyes but the minute you seen the true colors it brought it back
i'd be a happy bunny if cleaning paintings was my job. just the cleaning. so rewarding and relaxing to see the painting coming back to life! oh and the frames, i would clean those too.
Watching these videos make me realise how much I would love to do this. I feel that at my age the chance of doing this is already far behind me, but that doesn’t change the feeling I get when viewing each of his restorations.
The expressions of the girls were lost under the fog of yellow. They have so much more personality now that you're able to see the details of their expressions
What an idiot. Incessant talk, and starts cleaning without explaining if that is just plain cotton, commercial poly cotton, any solvents etc. How about the tiny fibers that will stick to the sharp paint edges. All paintings are not smooth like wall paint. Tutorials are supposed to explain what you are doing as you go along, not what you will do in the future in a different process. Effin Moron.
Someday someone will do conservation work on Bob Ross' paintings. They might accidentally remove the original paint, Bob Ross will speak down from the cloud:
"No worries, just have fun. It's not a mistake, just happy little accidents".
My question, although probably already asked numerous times, most likely is, Do you give the client a written summary of the work and the process, along with information that a restoration person such as yourself can use in a 100 plus years from now. Beautiful work that you do, so nice to see a piece of art come alive again.
looks like when you think your clothes is white and you compare it to a brand new white thing and it looks like tan or beige, such a switch in color and detail
Congratulations Julian for your work and sharing it with videos,i'm thinking to varnish my oil paintings with amber linseed varnish to a perfect protection,please can you tell me if you have ever made a restoration for a old painting with amber varnish and if you had to remove it,thanks very much,best regards !
Art restoration is incredible because I would have assumed these girls were of latin/Mediterranean descent until the varnish was removed. If you didn't know the artist or origins, you could have an entirely inaccurate assumption about the subjects before cleaning
The fact that people say "DoNt ReMoVe ThE vARnIsH" just kills me. Why do I want a green painting? I wouldve never seen the pink in her cheeks or the softness of her hair. She looks sad in the varnish, but without it she looks much cuter and innocent. Good job to the artist. The is absolutely brilliant.
Today has been a very hard day for me. I’ve had a full blown panic attack and a mental breakdown. Lots of things have happened today that’s made me upset. But I instantly came to these videos because I know they’ll be calming and relaxing. Thanks Julian.
Such a transformation! Look at the right sister, before her face is cleaned you can't see it but she's got this tiny little smirk on her face, her lips just ever slightly shifted to one side like she's trying to hold in a giggle or sarcastic remark – perhaps as to why she's being made to sit for this boring painting. Same with her sister on the left, who's got this ever so slight pinch to her otherwise impassive face, the right side of her lip just ever so slightly tugging down as if in the earliest stages of a grimace as to say "here we go again!" Neither of their subtle expressions were visible under the yellowed varnish, they looked dead and soulless, now it's like they are alive again, you can see them captured in time and realize that yes these two girls lived and here they are, captured in a moment in time as they lived.
I don't know….I found the original very beautiful purely because of the dirt and varnish on it. Bringing it into the here and now demonstrates how the artist attended to the painting at the time, but I found the result disturbing; it's not here and now, it was then.
This makes me stressed as an artist for so many reasons, including my art ever becoming this yellow, and the fact that people might wanna keep it yellow, and that fact that I am 17 and have never sold or plan to sell a painting any time soo and I should NOT be worrying about stuff like this rn
This is so interesting. In 1987 I went to the Sistine Chapel and they were in the process of cleaning the ceiling. It was amazing to see half of ceiling looking the way we all have perceived it through the years and the other half of what it must have looked like when it was new. You're work reminds me of that. I so appreciate that there are people like you that are bringing back the true image of what the painter wanted to portray when he/she made the work. Thank you.
Excellent commentary and easy to follow. However, the type of solvent used was not stated. What kind of solvent did you use to remove the grime? Thank you for a very educational video!
Julian, would you be willing to make a video were you go in to the techniques and the solvents used, or are they a "company secret" from restorer to restorer?
I will never have to work on paintings of any value, but it could be interesting to try working on fleamarket finds or something else of little to no value, just for the leaning experience, and I could only imagine that other vievers came across your channel because they have the same interests.
I understand that you dont run a DIY, channel for good reason, but if you had the time on you hands, I think many vievers would find it interesting to delve more in to the tecniques used.
You know, in some ways, the art of conservation makes me kind of sad. How many paintings did we lose to trial and error, trying to figure out the best ways to make sure the painting was clean, and showed the original artist's intent? How many were messed up in the cleaning project because the materials used ruined the types of paints or painting techniques that were used?
I love how he says ‘this painting arrived in my studio’ like it just appeared on one of his shelves and he was like ‘welp. I guess I have to conserve it’
When dealing with a client how is it determined when it is worth the while to restore or dispose or do nothing with a piece of art? And what would those factors be? What a neat thing to do for a living; to be near all hat beautiful art every day! Even the scrapings are full of history.
With this painting it was obvious to me at a glance, and untrained eye, that it was very wrong. The artist had gone into great detail to capture shadows and show the direction of the light yet there were no highlights. Most obvious in the hair. Just a dull drab color. Next, using my forensic training, I noticed something was very wrong, incongruous. The artist was very good at photo realism but the general appearance of the two faces was much too similar. With the great eye for detail as seen in the shadows and direction of the light, something was obscuring the artists vision. Simply compare the two faces analytically. One is much more round, the ears are each unique – similar to fingerprints, and there are subtle differences in the shape of the lips. Lips are almost never perfectly symmetrical. One chin is more pointed, forehead and hairline quite dissimilar. So why would the artist capture all these details yet make the skin tones identical? S/he didn't. As the varnish is removed it's obvious one subject had slightly fairer skin than the other.
I'm wondering if this is an example of what often happened in early America, where itinerant artists would pre-paint the bodies on a variety of panels/canvases, then travel around getting parents to hire him to paint their kids' portraits on them. The heads in this painting are so much livelier and realistic than the bodies in their dresses, which look almost like a cartoon.
Oh wow, what a wonderful painting. Before the removal they looked like a flat image but after the shading came back in full force. Their eyes look so real
OMGOODNESS! This was amazing truly brought the life back into those adorable little girls beforehand it was kinda creepy specially with those dead eyes but the minute you seen the true colors it brought it back
i'd be a happy bunny if cleaning paintings was my job. just the cleaning. so rewarding and relaxing to see the painting coming back to life! oh and the frames, i would clean those too.
Watching these videos make me realise how much I would love to do this. I feel that at my age the chance of doing this is already far behind me, but that doesn’t change the feeling I get when viewing each of his restorations.
“Come and play with us, Danny!”
The expressions of the girls were lost under the fog of yellow. They have so much more personality now that you're able to see the details of their expressions
I just wish we knew who the artist was
All I gotta say is that some creepy ass painting
Konuşmadan lütfen
Love the phantom of the Opera in the background😂
🤯
12:50
when her foundation doesnt match her neck
Who would have thunk this would be so interesting?! How does someone even get into this line of work?! I think I missed my calling
What an idiot. Incessant talk, and starts cleaning without explaining if that is just plain cotton, commercial poly cotton, any solvents etc. How about the tiny fibers that will stick to the sharp paint edges. All paintings are not smooth like wall paint. Tutorials are supposed to explain what you are doing as you go along, not what you will do in the future in a different process. Effin Moron.
that song sounded a lot like "music of the night" from phantom of the opera 0:25–0:40
I felt that when she went from 👩🏼 to 👩🏻
creepy painting
Forget dirty, I think that painting is haunted. I'd have to sage up the studio after that! So creepy.
Anyone know the backing music? I recognise it, but can’t place it
Goodbye contouring.
Do you give a video cd of the restoration process to your clients as freebies?
It strikes me that these sisters may have grown up, had children of their own, and died, all while the varnish darkened over their childhood selves.
Someday someone will do conservation work on Bob Ross' paintings. They might accidentally remove the original paint, Bob Ross will speak down from the cloud:
"No worries, just have fun. It's not a mistake, just happy little accidents".
My question, although probably already asked numerous times, most likely is, Do you give the client a written summary of the work and the process, along with information that a restoration person such as yourself can use in a 100 plus years from now. Beautiful work that you do, so nice to see a piece of art come alive again.
@ 10:55 Wow! That is insane! The difference is unbelievable!
I can tell you really love the art you conserve
those girls’ necks are very thick
looks like when you think your clothes is white and you compare it to a brand new white thing and it looks like tan or beige, such a switch in color and detail
Congratulations Julian for your work and sharing it with videos,i'm thinking to varnish my oil paintings with amber linseed varnish to a perfect protection,please can you tell me if you have ever made a restoration for a old painting with amber varnish and if you had to remove it,thanks very much,best regards !
This painting is lowkey creepy af and their necks are thiccccc
Who is the artist?
Art restoration is incredible because I would have assumed these girls were of latin/Mediterranean descent until the varnish was removed. If you didn't know the artist or origins, you could have an entirely inaccurate assumption about the subjects before cleaning
The fact that people say "DoNt ReMoVe ThE vARnIsH" just kills me. Why do I want a green painting? I wouldve never seen the pink in her cheeks or the softness of her hair. She looks sad in the varnish, but without it she looks much cuter and innocent. Good job to the artist. The is absolutely brilliant.
4:50 james charles who lmao
Remarkable
I personally think that this painting in particular looks better with the grime but I understand that, that wasn't the artist's intent.
It looks like she has one blue eye and one brown @7:05
That painting is beautiful and after cleaning it looks amazing
your voice is acc so therapeutic wowo
Tryna hide that phantom of the Opera music music in the back
3:53 basically saying “your opinion is wrong” 😂
Today has been a very hard day for me. I’ve had a full blown panic attack and a mental breakdown. Lots of things have happened today that’s made me upset. But I instantly came to these videos because I know they’ll be calming and relaxing. Thanks Julian.
You are talented but very arrogant. Get off that high horse damn
Come play with us Danny…
Such a transformation! Look at the right sister, before her face is cleaned you can't see it but she's got this tiny little smirk on her face, her lips just ever slightly shifted to one side like she's trying to hold in a giggle or sarcastic remark – perhaps as to why she's being made to sit for this boring painting. Same with her sister on the left, who's got this ever so slight pinch to her otherwise impassive face, the right side of her lip just ever so slightly tugging down as if in the earliest stages of a grimace as to say "here we go again!" Neither of their subtle expressions were visible under the yellowed varnish, they looked dead and soulless, now it's like they are alive again, you can see them captured in time and realize that yes these two girls lived and here they are, captured in a moment in time as they lived.
tag yourself i’m the surface grime
I don't know….I found the original very beautiful purely because of the dirt and varnish on it. Bringing it into the here and now demonstrates how the artist attended to the painting at the time, but I found the result disturbing; it's not here and now, it was then.
8:40 shame on whoever punched this poor little girl lol
I’m fairly positive that the background music is phantom. Anyone else?
This makes me stressed as an artist for so many reasons, including my art ever becoming this yellow, and the fact that people might wanna keep it yellow, and that fact that I am 17 and have never sold or plan to sell a painting any time soo and I should NOT be worrying about stuff like this rn
Is that music at the start a piano version of music of the night? It sounds so similar
This is so interesting. In 1987 I went to the Sistine Chapel and they were in the process of cleaning the ceiling. It was amazing to see half of ceiling looking the way we all have perceived it through the years and the other half of what it must have looked like when it was new. You're work reminds me of that. I so appreciate that there are people like you that are bringing back the true image of what the painter wanted to portray when he/she made the work. Thank you.
Me:*puts hand on painting*
Me: hehe I'm surface grime
Drinking game. Drink on the word varnish.
Our boy julian just hit one million subs!!
Excellent commentary and easy to follow. However, the type of solvent used was not stated. What kind of solvent did you use to remove the grime? Thank you for a very educational video!
The painting is creepy
Damn, that painting was filthy!
작업과정을 보는게 재밌어요. 멋져요.^ ㅇ^
That painting has a Shining vibe.
YOU TALK AND TALK AND TALK AND WASTE MY TIME AS YOU DIDN'T TELL ANYTHING!
Those girls do not look happy. I wonder how long they had to sit still . LOL
Why do their faces look so life like and three dimensional but at the same time their dresses look so flat and bad
Thank you, a pleasure to watch you work.
This channel has helped me through so many panic attacks
Does no one else see that the mouths are ever so slightly off center it’s bugging me
sir there alternative cleaning materials can be use?
Do you find that the same strength of solvent works for all the different pigments used in the painting?
Julian, would you be willing to make a video were you go in to the techniques and the solvents used, or are they a "company secret" from restorer to restorer?
I will never have to work on paintings of any value, but it could be interesting to try working on fleamarket finds or something else of little to no value, just for the leaning experience, and I could only imagine that other vievers came across your channel because they have the same interests.
I understand that you dont run a DIY, channel for good reason, but if you had the time on you hands, I think many vievers would find it interesting to delve more in to the tecniques used.
It's the twins from "The Shinning!"
The painting is "Grady's Daughters" – oil on canvas, Jack Torrance (American) 1921
i remember seeing art work like this as a kid and wondering why the artist always used weirdly yellow/brown colours
These videos make me like to pretend that my art will be preserved after I'm dead.
Him pulling apart that cotton at the beginning is a visual nightmare for me.
Dude just took home girls tan away.
Man they went form little Hispanic twins to white chicks
Thanks a lot! It is really nice see the restoration process!
Note to self: add a varnish to your art so years later when you die your painting is all over YouTube and you are suddenly super famous for it UwU
This must be the most satisfying yet stressful job in the world…
It’s perfect.
Amazing work that you did!
Not creepy at all. Would totally hang above bed.
You know, in some ways, the art of conservation makes me kind of sad. How many paintings did we lose to trial and error, trying to figure out the best ways to make sure the painting was clean, and showed the original artist's intent? How many were messed up in the cleaning project because the materials used ruined the types of paints or painting techniques that were used?
Ok but high key these girls are terrifying no matter what the varnish situation is
So what are those solvents you use?
What song is playing in the background? I feel like I know it but I can't put my finger on it
They don't have a souls, they want some to eat
that's kind of a creepy painting arm also looks
wrong twins are not happy girls
Let's get that right
That surface grime was about 5 years away from making those girls a part of a racial scandal
9:30 "You should see the other guy."
I love how he says ‘this painting arrived in my studio’ like it just appeared on one of his shelves and he was like ‘welp. I guess I have to conserve it’
Where do you guys think it's made?
I think it was painted in new orleans
When dealing with a client how is it determined when it is worth the while to restore or dispose or do nothing with a piece of art? And what would those factors be? What a neat thing to do for a living; to be near all hat beautiful art every day! Even the scrapings are full of history.
This is certainly a job that must give great satisfaction, the differences are stunning!
With this painting it was obvious to me at a glance, and untrained eye, that it was very wrong. The artist had gone into great detail to capture shadows and show the direction of the light yet there were no highlights. Most obvious in the hair. Just a dull drab color. Next, using my forensic training, I noticed something was very wrong, incongruous. The artist was very good at photo realism but the general appearance of the two faces was much too similar. With the great eye for detail as seen in the shadows and direction of the light, something was obscuring the artists vision. Simply compare the two faces analytically. One is much more round, the ears are each unique – similar to fingerprints, and there are subtle differences in the shape of the lips. Lips are almost never perfectly symmetrical. One chin is more pointed, forehead and hairline quite dissimilar. So why would the artist capture all these details yet make the skin tones identical? S/he didn't. As the varnish is removed it's obvious one subject had slightly fairer skin than the other.
I'm wondering if this is an example of what often happened in early America, where itinerant artists would pre-paint the bodies on a variety of panels/canvases, then travel around getting parents to hire him to paint their kids' portraits on them. The heads in this painting are so much livelier and realistic than the bodies in their dresses, which look almost like a cartoon.
I found the emergence of those faces really moving. Lovely job and great explanation. Thank you.
That sounded like a song from phantom in the background.
Oh wow, what a wonderful painting. Before the removal they looked like a flat image but after the shading came back in full force. Their eyes look so real
I love the video but i find the painting to be displeasing to my eye.
Very nice restoration! can I ask what solvent you used?
Did anyone else keep hearing parts of Music of the Night from Phantom