The retouching process is arguably the most fun and difficult part of any conservation. While it’s exciting to literally reassemble the image and make the damage disappear, it’s also the thing that the viewer will see first. All of the structural work is hidden and often behind the image yet the image itself is the whole point. If the retouching isn’t spot-on then no amount of other work will matter to the viewer. This painting of a canal had a pretty nasty compound tear and required a lining to

Fine Art Restoration - The Retouching Process. Source Baumgartner Restoration https://buff.ly/2A2tgy1 | Cubebrush

L’impressionnant travail de restauration de Baumgartner Fine Art Restoration En savoir plus : nzn.li/bfar © bfar.com | NeozOne

Pour ce dernier épisode, nous allons à la rencontre d’Olivier Baumgartner, dinandier-ornemaniste 👨‍🏭 Il est en charge de la restauration des statues de cuivre des apôtres de la Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris. Une aubaine inespérée, puisqu'elles ont été descendues quelques jours avant l’incendie… Suivez l’actualité du chantier sur Rebâtir Notre-Dame de Paris | Le Jour du Seigneur

I talk a lot about how the materials and techniques I use are reversible and here is a prime example of that. I had mended a small tear using the bridging technique that I am very fond of. The client accidentally damaged the painting and now it needs to be lined. Before I can do the lining I have to remove the bridging and as you can see it’s really quite simple. | Baumgartner Fine Art Restoration

Removing surface grime and old discolored varnish makes up a large part of any conservator’s daily work. That said, even after the 10,000th painting it’s always exciting to see what lies beneath. That satin fabric just sparkles! Notice however some old retouching in the lower part of the dress that was totally hidden by the varnish and grime. That’s oil paint that will likely have to be removed manually. At pine point t it probably matched but over time it darkened and now looks pretty lousy. |