In this video the focus is the retouching process. Follow along as the losses and damage are reintegrated and the image comes together.
This painting arrived at the studio of Baumgartner Fine Art Restoration in Chicago in desperate need of attention. A previous conservation attempt proved to be unsuccessful and the painting was left in an unfinished and damaged state.
Julian Baumgartner works to reintegrate the losses and unify the image inclu...
2020-10-08 23:24:50 +0000 UTC
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Julian Baumgartner of Baumgartner Fine Art Restoration in Chicago documents the process of removing a discolored natural resin varnish from a portrait of twin sisters.
While not meant as an instructional video, Julian discusses some of the approaches to cleaning paintings, why that's necessary, and how one might understand the delicacies and potential issues with such a procedure.
2020-10-08 23:23:53 +0000 UTC
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Follow along as Julian Baumgartner of Baumgartner Fine Art Restoration conserves and restores a 150 year old painting of Mother Mary. Watch as the painting is stabilized, the tears mended and the missing paint retouched and integrated with the image. All of the techniques and materials are archival and fully reversible. Once the work is completed the painting will be ready for another 150 years.
2020-10-08 23:23:14 +0000 UTC
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In this video the focus is the retouching process. Follow along as the losses and damage are reintegrated and the image comes together.
This painting arrived at the studio of Baumgartner Fine Art Restoration in Chicago in desperate need of attention. A previous conservation attempt proved to be unsuccessful and the painting was left in an unfinished and damaged state.
Julian Baumgartner works to reintegrate the losses and unify the image inclu...
2020-10-08 23:22:32 +0000 UTC
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In this extend video the full process of conserving the frame from the video series "The Conservation of Guy Wiggins" is revealed. From removal of the old work, to the creation and gilding of a new liner, all of the steps and materials are revealed with an eye, or ear to ASMR.
Julian Baumgartner is the conservator at Baumgartner Fine Art Restoration in Chicago. A second generation business and the oldest conservation studio in Chicago, Baumgartner Fine Art Restoration...
2020-10-08 23:21:41 +0000 UTC
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The Conservation of Guy Wiggins Episode 7: "Finally, the Frame"
After seeing the painting fully conserved the client was so delighted that the condition of the original frame was just not acceptable. It was agreed upon that an attempt to salvage and restore the frame would be prudent. In this coda to the painting conservation Julian works to undo the damage and recent overpainting of the frame.
Julian Baumgartner is the conse...
2020-10-08 23:20:54 +0000 UTC
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The Conservation of Guy Wiggins Episode 6: "The Last Mile"
In the sixth and final episode in the series, with all of the conservation work complete, attention is turned to the remaining tasks that ensure that the work was thorough and executed with care
Julian Baumgartner is the conservator at Baumgartner Fine Art Restoration in Chicago. A second generation business and the oldest conservation studio in Chicago, Baumgartner Fine Art Rest...
2020-10-08 23:20:11 +0000 UTC
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The Conservation of Guy Wiggins Episode 5: "The Image as Centerpiece"
For the fifth episode in this series with the cleaning and structural work complete and the painting back on the support, all of the attention is focused on the image as we work to address the losses and put the picture back together.
Julian Baumgartner is the conservator at Baumgartner Fine Art Restoration in Chicago. A second generation business and the oldest ...
2020-10-08 23:19:19 +0000 UTC
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The Conservation of Guy Wiggins Episode 4: "Becoming Whole Again"
For the fourth episode in the series the work shifts from removal to addition as materials and techniques are used to bring the painting to a whole state and prepare it for the coming treatments. Check back next Monday for the next video in the series!
Julian Baumgartner is the conservator at Baumgartner Fine Art Restoration in Chicago. A second generation business a...
2020-10-08 23:18:24 +0000 UTC
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The Conservation of Guy Wiggins Episode 3: "On Structural Issues"
For the third episode in this series we turn our attention away from the image and to the structure of the painting. Addressing the old conservation work and ensuring that the painting is stable going forward, this is the work that is rarely seen yet critical to a successful conservation. Check back next Monday for the next video in the series!
Julian Baumgartn...
2020-10-08 23:17:36 +0000 UTC
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The Conservation of Guy Wiggins Episode 2: "The Cleaning Process"
In the second episode, once all of the prep work has been completed the cleaning of the painting can commence. Using the information gathered during the testing phase, the appropriate cleaning agents and solvents are employed and the grime and old varnish are removed revealing a first look at the painting as the artist saw it. Check back next Monday for the next video in the series! &n...
2020-10-08 23:16:49 +0000 UTC
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The Conservation of Guy Wiggins Episode 1: "The Work Before The Work"
For the first episode in this series we take a look at all of the work required before any conservation project begins. From examinations to research and materials testing much happens before any work is executed on the actual painting. While no two projects are alike and the process of approaching a conservation may differ from studio to studio, painting to painting and even at Ba...
2020-10-08 23:16:04 +0000 UTC
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In this narrated extended-play video, Julian Baumgartner of Baumgartner Fine Art Restoration, the oldest and now second generation conservation studio in Chicago focuses on the conservation of a portrait by the English painter Cornelius Janssens.
The painting was considerably dirty with accumulated grime as well as a discolored varnish. In addition there was quite a bit of overpainting throughout the clothing that needed to be removed as well as some in the back...
2020-10-08 23:15:05 +0000 UTC
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In this narrated extended-play video, Julian Baumgartner of Baumgartner Fine Art Restoration, the oldest and now second generation conservation studio in Chicago focuses on the conservation of a portrait by the English painter Cornelius Janssens.
The painting was considerably dirty with accumulated grime as well as a discolored varnish. In addition there was quite a bit of overpainting throughout the clothing that needed to be removed as well as some in the back...
2020-10-08 23:14:11 +0000 UTC
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Follow along as Julian Baumgartner of Baumgartner Fine Art Restoration in Chicago works to conserve and restore this icon of Ave Maria. This piece was likely created in a workshop that specialized in religious icons for churches and was the product of several craftspeople and artists with no one claiming ownership or signing the work.
These icons appeared commonly throughout Europe and were often lost during war or the closure or relocation of a church. Th...
2020-10-08 23:13:22 +0000 UTC
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Follow along as Julian Baumgartner of Baumgartner Fine Art Restoration in Chicago works to conserve and restore this icon of Ave Maria. This piece was likely created in a workshop that specialized in religious icons for churches and was the product of several craftspeople and artists with no one claiming ownership or signing the work. These icons appeared commonly throughout Europe and were often lost during war or the closure or relocation of a church.
Th...
2020-10-08 23:12:33 +0000 UTC
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Julian Baumgartner of Baumgartner Fine Art Restoration in Chicago works to conserve this painting of the assassination of Archimedes. Obscured by a darkened varnish and mounted to a wood panel the artwork is cleaned and the panel removed using both modern and traditional techniques. Using routers, hand planes and scalpels the wood is painstakingly removed form the thin paper in order to facilitate the preservation of the paper via archival mounting to acid-free board.
2020-10-08 23:11:35 +0000 UTC
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In this video, shot by Jack Brandtman of ChicagoAussie, Julian Baumgartner of Baumgartner Fine Art Restoration in Chicago works to restore a portrait by Emma Gaggiotti.
The restoration involved a superficial cleaning, the removal of the old varnish, reversal of old and failing conservation work, several stabilization treatments, repair of tears, retouching and varnishing. The techniques and materials employed are all reversible and archival and in accordance wit...
2020-10-08 23:10:48 +0000 UTC
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Julian Baumgartner of Baumgartner Fine Art Restoration in Chicago works to conserve this painting of the assassination of Archimedes. Obscured by a darkened varnish and mounted to a wood panel the artwork is cleaned and the panel removed using both modern and traditional techniques. Using routers, hand planes and scalpels the wood is painstakingly removed form the thin paper in order to facilitate the preservation of the paper via archival mounting to acid-free board. Employ...
2020-10-08 23:10:03 +0000 UTC
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Everybody loves a big painting, in fact one of my professors once said that "big isn't better, it's just better." And he meant that even if the painting is banal and about something uninteresting like shoe laces, if it's big it commands attention and must be reckoned with. Luckily this big painting isn't boring or banal, but it is big.
And as any painting gets larger the complexity of a conservation does as well. From the duration any one procedure t...
2020-10-08 23:09:23 +0000 UTC
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Well this doesn't look like a painting at all. But then again, it is decorated with paint just like every painting ever, and the support is wood just like the Mona Lisa, the most famous painting ever. So maybe it is a painting...?
Regardless, this darling little sculpture by Ida Kohlmeyer isn't doing so well and needs a bit of attention. As a paintings conservator I mostly work with, well, paintings yet every now and then an object or sculpture arrives with a si...
2020-10-08 23:08:37 +0000 UTC
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There are many issues a conservator may face when working on any given painting including old varnish and surface grime, lost paint and other superficial damage, past conservation or repair work and major structural failures. Sometimes the conservator must address all of them.
Though the artist is unknown this painting of Salvator Mundi dates back to approximately the early 1600's and in the 400 plus years since creation it has been handled and worked on many times with mix...
2020-10-08 23:07:49 +0000 UTC
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Henry Ranger was a New York painter known for his seascapes and marine scenes. He was a prominent Tonalist and founder of the Old Lyme Art Colony.
This painting of the ocean with some meandering sailboats was clearly a tonal painting when it arrived, only the wrong tone. with years of surface grime and a heavily discolored varnish the painting had taken on a very yellow cast. As the varnish was removed a few interesting discoveries were made that com...
2020-10-08 23:06:57 +0000 UTC
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For this video our subject is a painting by the American Master George Inness. This painting was executed during Inness' second sojourn to Italy in 1874 and is one of two paintings of similar subject matter.
This painting was owned by a university and museum before it became available to the public and ultimately the clients. At some point, perhaps in the mid 1940's the painting underwent a conservation whereby it was lined with an aluminum interleaf. Afte...
2020-10-08 23:05:55 +0000 UTC
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This video departs from the normal offering of painting conservation and takes a look at the build process for one of the most important pieces of equipment in the modern conservation studio.
The heated suction table is an invaluable piece of kit that allows the even and precise application of heat and pressure to a painting that can be used in many different treatments. After moving to a new studio and the failure of his nearly 40-year old table, ar...
2020-10-08 23:04:54 +0000 UTC
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Every now and then a project comes into the studio that is so desperate for intervention that the scope of the work involved seems insurmountable. Yet those are just the types of projects conservators thrive on; the ones that look disastrous, require a phenomenal amount of work and creativity but if treated right and with care and precision will respond beautifully.
Such is the case with this copy of Guido Reni's masterpiece "L'Aurora". Though the artist is unkn...
2020-10-08 23:03:47 +0000 UTC
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Every now and then a project comes into the studio that is so desperate for intervention that the scope of the work involved seems insurmountable. Yet those are just the types of projects conservators thrive on; the ones that look disastrous, require a phenomenal amount of work and creativity but if treated right and with care and precision will respond beautifully. Such is the case with this copy of Guido Reni's masterpiece "L'Aurora". Though the artist is unknown it ...
2020-10-08 23:02:58 +0000 UTC
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Viewers of these videos and others familiar with conservation of artworks will recognize that one of the most common refrains is "archival and reversible." Conservators hold that phrase sacred and as a guiding principal for their work. Conservators labor to ensure that the work they execute will be stable for the long term, will not cause harm or damage to the artwork and is able to be safely removed in the future if ever needed.
In this video J...
2020-10-08 23:02:07 +0000 UTC
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Sometimes a project comes along that is desperate for intervention but presents a unique set of problems and a very narrow path to success. These projects are without a doubt the most frustrating, difficult and rewarding. This small oil on canvas by Mathias J. Alten had seen better days. Glued onto plywood and coated with a very thick and yellowed surface layer the delicate brushwork and true colors were totally obscured. What appeared to be a painting in desperate nee...
2020-10-08 22:59:38 +0000 UTC
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