Art Conservator Reviews Restoration in Movies

[@nickenniss]

the folding of the painting was BRUTAL

[@steve_weinrich]

When I first watched it (about a century ago), I couldn't figure out how he did it with damaging the painting. I finally concluded it was impossible.

[@AlexGeo925]

Yeah, I felt that crunch in my soul. Thanks, Julian.

[@RochelleHasTooManyHobbies]

Right? He may have torn it out of the frame, but it was still CLEARLY on a stretcher. Like... bro. You didn't even try with that one.

[@evilpompom]

It hurt my bones 😨

[@nixienova]

RIGHT?! I was thinking he was gonna cut it off the stretcher lmao!

[@betterthanoakhurst4799]

i love the video of julian pauses completely every time the video plays

[@thomasbruinsma]

I know I can't stop looking over there. Must be a better way to do it, but it's also very Baumgartner haha

[@panthraxbw]

Some of the other channels that do the "Person reviews whatever in movies" videos do the same thing. I assume this was done intentionally to mimic that kind of thing, I actually had to check to see if this was one of those cross-posted to this channel.

[@petradegroot3578]

He looked very funny in some of them😂

[@BaumgartnerRestoration]

You know how hard I worked to stay still, not blink or breathe!! 😜

[@bigsarge2085]

Coincidentally, the same actor, Peter MacNicol, is evaluating the paintings in both "Mr. Bean" and "Ghostbusters 2."

[@FreejackVesa]

They take place in the same "universe". Lol The Bean Cinematic Universe, the BCU. Because let's face it, the concept of a bean cinematic universe is way funnier and silly than a Ghostbusters Cinematic Universe

[@ProfDanielVargas]

Poor guy, having to deal with Mr. Bean destroying the art of Whistler and then having to deal with the Ghostbusters. No wonder he was always so stressed.

[@sboinkthelegday3892]

Also Brosnan right before Judi Dench. Judi Dench who always reminds me of art piece, Blode 6, Attack of the Uber Pea.

[@JoinTheMadVender]

His accent improved a lot after 1989, though! By 1997 you'd swear he was a native English speaker! 🤣

[@joeynessily]

The Vigo painting in Ghostbusters 2 is an interesting prop! It’s actually a photo! They set the photo up where they put makeup on the actor to look ‘painted’ and he stood in front of a painting backdrop… this meant they could cut between him moving and seamlessly change to film elements. The prop ‘painting’ is now in the Lobby of the Sky Walker ranch studio.

[@W4iteFlame]

Cool info. Thanks

[@rubybuttons668]

Thank you for sharing. I really want to find a smaller replica of the Vigo painting, for my cousin who is a massive Ghostbusters fan, to sit over his mantle piece in his man cave lol.

[@damogranheart5521]

​@@rubybuttons668That would be a Super Cool Gift!

[@maartenlemmens8628]

"This is not how art is stolen." You,d be surprised and shocked at how amateurish many art thieves are.

[@moehoward01]

Not just art thieves.

[@reis5011]

the (arguably) most prolific art thief ever's MO was just walking into the museum, taking the art off the wall, and walking out. ig he seemed confident enough that no one questioned if he was supposed to be doing that

[@Liza-ke3yq]

I've been working at the museum, which was robbed at a day time. I believe it happened in the late 80s, but not sure. A number of my colleagues were there that day and no matter how amateurish the robbers were (they actually have been arrested later that day), it was horrible - there was a shooting, several people were seriously injured and I'm not quite sure, if no one was killed that day.

[@Timspfd]

Julian mentions seeing no haunted paintings, but long-time fans remember the baby sculpture in the storage closet...

[@fwiffo]

The only work more haunting than Vigo the Carpathian.

[@catacc.]

Can you link the video please? 👀

[@marktully681]

The bit that always confused me in The Thomas Crown Affair is that when he takes the painting out at home, after breaking it in half while stealing it, the stretcher is intact! I have actually watched those two scenes multiple times to see if i am making a mistake, but no, he has a magic briefcase

[@ElliLavender]

Wow, that's a major continuation error! I mean, the moment where he folds the painting in half is pretty memorable, it's not like something that just passes you by.

[@johannesspringinsfeld6381]

"Bill Murray being able to walk into the studio not so plausible" If Bill Murray showed up at your studio and just wanted to walk in, would you stop him Julian? Because I'm pretty sure I wouldn't.

[@BaumgartnerRestoration]

No, I’d die.

[@ellesmerewildwood4858]

Back in the late 90s there was a rival conservation studio, "Beangartner Fine Art Restorations." After the Whistler's Mother incident, the studio was closed and the owner, Aloysius Bean disappeared under mysterious circumstances.

[@ElliLavender]

Lmao 😂

[@max2grant]

It was all Rupert and Hupert’s fault

[@ankiking]

😂

[@timaidley7801]

Wait... Julian said he'd been restoring for 26 years now, which would mean he started in the late 90s. And I've never seen him and Mr. Bean together in the same room! 🤔

[@BIGJATPSU]

Julian talking about paintings moving after smelling solvent to long, 'But I digress." NO, NO, there is a story there we need told I'm sure. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@Moccason]

I watched Bean as a young child. Not only did the destruction of that painting distress me SO MUCH that I never finished watching the film (until this day) I am also now, age 19, genuinely going to university to study to become an art conservator 😭 I can’t help but think that it played a role in shaping my future career.

[@NachosElectric]

Wow I never knew so many people are both wusses who cringe at a comedy and stiffs who can’t laugh at a comedy 😂

[@davidcrisp5805]

Might be worth noting that the painting Judi Dench was working on was an in situ fresco, so it couldn't have been moved into a lab or studio in the first place. (And while today that would probably involve tenting off the area as a temporary clean room, the movie was set during WWII Italy, back then it really would just have been one person up a stepladder)

[@flowerdolphin5648]

This week with Julian: how to steal art - the correct way. This was a very insightful reaction, thank you. And also, please do show us how you get ink stains off a painting if one comes across you. I am very interested now.

[@lehcyfer]

Most inks dissolve in alcohol

[@timonix2]

The varnish protects separates the paint from the ink. You need a solution which dissolves the ink, without dissolving the varnish.

[@glacierllane]

"No paiting has ever looked at me.... Not that I know of" 😅

[@DjVortex-w]

I have seen conservation in movies at least a dozen times, but never, not even once, paid any thought to it. This video is teaching me so much.

[@RoulinBrooks]

What were the other movies not included here?

[@miriamgreen3973]

I love the look on your face when Mr Bean messes up Whister's Mother 😄

[@adamiotime]

The Bean painting "restoration" scene gave me nightmares even as a kid! Sooo hard to watch

[@anna9072]

I hadn’t seen it before, and I was cringing. I don’t understand how people find this sort of thing funny, it’s horrible.

[@Susan-nm3sx]

@@anna9072what! 😂😂😂 omg…. It’s hilarious! Get a funny bone, it’s meant to be ironic. Go suck the air out of the room somewhere else. Jeez. 🤣🤣🤣

[@zlatan_2197]

@@anna9072 People find it funny because Mr. Bean is one of the best characters when it comes to physical and absurd comedy. Rowan Atkinson is very smart man, but he created that character to be universally appealing in its naive, childish, no-speaking charm. If you know anything about the character, you won't cringe, because you expect it from the character, and if you have some measurable common-sense, you can always separate comedy and reality.

[@anna9072]

@@zlatan_2197 yeah, well, I never have learned to distance myself from that kind of “humor”. I just don’t find people making fools of themselves funny. I know other people do, I just don’t understand it.

[@phoebecara4361]

​@@anna9072quick question have you ever seen a Bean movie or Mr. Bean animated episode as a child?

[@Peepaboo]

There's nothing quite like procrastinating by watching a professional conservator procrastinate

[@allyk1933]

There’s nothing quite like procrastinating by reading a comment about procrastinating on a video of a procrastinating professional conservator

[@TinaDanielsson]

That hit its mark, I'd better get to work! 😅

[@thammuz]

The Whsitler's Mother reveal is one of my favorite scenes in any movie.

[@Shae_Sandybanks]

It's so funny and horrifying.

[@xe-wf5iv]

The ending when the real painting shows up again is my 2nd favorite.

[@unavoidablycanadian397]

"Okay, okay, let me see the painting again" And then he tries to escape through the window.

[@randomplotbunny]

I'd love to see more of Julian's reactions to painting heists in movies and tv. If ripping down and folding a painting gets him riled he'd likely seethe at what other shenanigans paintings are put through in the name of entertainment.

[@z0bi_]

i flinch every time a thief cuts the painting out of it's frame/stretcher and rolls it up to put it into a tube.

[@RosinaEmilyW]

Don’t even mention the Just Stop Oil whack jobs. That’s just depressing. The rich arses who own the paintings would probably end up revving their engines a few more times in spite. Or taking a few extra trips on their private jets.

[@stereonacht2247]

@@z0bi_ How do you think all those bad interleaving jobs come to be? 😉

[@VampireCake78]

The saga of 'The Fallen Madonna With The Big Boobies' from 'Allo 'Allo. Probably have to sensor the nipples though.

[@Marie45610]

The movie "The Witches" from 1990 made me terrified of paintings for a bit because of the story the grandmother told about her friend who was trapped in a painting.

[@shandaughter]

That scene is always one that stuck with me.

[@FancyRPGCanada]

Mix that with A Christmas Carol and young me was terrified of ghosts coming out of paintings for years 😂

[@rubybuttons668]

Haha me too! I was convinced when I was little I saw the people in paintings moving. Lol

[@artheaded1]

I saw The Witches as an adult, and the story about the girl stuck in the painting is the most chilling part of the whole movie. Gives me goosebumps to think of it now!

[@LuciferSpiro1993]

Toy Story 2 - While rare at the time of the movie, Woody's were once a mass produced toy. When cleaning your 407th version of the same eyeball, from the same factory, you probably already know what solvent is safe.

[@sandyhearn8332]

I cant tell you how many times i have thought about the Bean painting while watching you skillfully restore paintings. I loved seeing your reaction to it. I was excited when i saw it in the thumbnail.

[@HaitaniMasayuki]

Not even mentioning that Peter MacNicol has *two* roles in this video? :D

[@snuffmeister6720]

this might be the first time i heard thats his name, i always call him the Biscuit

[@lynnstlaurent6789]

The Mr Bean technique would make a great April Fool’s Day video. Also are you saying you can touch up my double chin?

[@lrla8657]

Julian!!! You should do a video for artists on what they should do to properly prepare and protect a painting today to make it easier for restoration in the future.

[@taracampbell2433]

This is a fun break! And your comment about modifying paintings reminded me of one of my college dorms. It was an 1800s mansion that was donated shortly after the great San Francisco Earthquake to what was, at that time, a teaching school for women run by nuns. The dining room had a beautiful hunting scene on the walls. The nuns had some modifications made so the painting would be "appropriate" for the ladies who would be staying in the dorm... specifically, the dogs were all "castrated" by painting out the genitals. 😅 The artist responsible did a masterful job - you basically have to have your nose to the fall to identify the overpainted sections- but i've often wondered what it looked like intact for the nuns to declare it so inappropriate!

[@loneranterism]

So next time there's a conservation sequence in a movie...we need Julian as a movie advisor. I would really love him getting such a job...

[@rosekopelowitz5069]

Honestly, Julian does such a good job explaining things on his channel I bet they could just watch it and know more than they ever needed to

[@Raeprim]

Oh this is an interesting and fun idea for a video.

[@michellehess6674]

I actually say, ”Everything you are doing is bad. I want you to know this.” a lot. 😂

[@Shae_Sandybanks]

It's so savage lol

[@artheaded1]

Everything is spot on in this scene ... EXCEPT FOR THE SMOKING!!!😆

[@wesleybilly8097]

I appreciate art more because of you. I have been following you for years and years.

[@ThirdEchelon111]

You should see Toy Story 2, to understand the context of that scene. Painting over Andy's name, is a slap in the face to the relationship between Andy and Woody. And what happens later, when the paint starts coming off and the name becomes visible again, is symbolic for Andy and Woody reuniting.

[@evanmak7837]

Seeing toy restorations and repaints, it is baffling to me that guy didn't use any form of sealant to protect the paint from chipping/dust/anything in the environment that can harm the toy.

[@ThirdEchelon111]

It's a fantasy kid's movie about talking toys and you're worried about what, exactly?

[@rickb3078]

I’d love a Baumgartner - Bean collab on a Caravaggio

[@monkeygraborange]

…and now for something _completely different!_

[@tiwantiwaabibiman2603]

And the giant cartoon barefoot comes out of no where to squash the fake restorer.

[@AxelXeron]

I rewatched Ghostbusters 2 very recently and thought of you when I saw that scene. I was pleasantly surprised by how realistically they portrayed it.

[@sarahleonard7309]

According to the director of the Thomas Crown Affair, that heist scene originally included the details of how the briefcase worked and how it was able to fold the painting with a minimum of damage. However, it was decided that it took too long and slowed the pace of that tense scene too much, and was cut. The footage was not included in the deleted scenes on the DVD, so I have always wondered what the props department had come up with as an explanation for why the painting wasn't just completely destroyed!

[@BaumgartnerRestoration]

I didn’t know that, I’ll have to watch the extra scenes! It’s certainly possible to fold a painting- we’ve done it, just not the way it’s depicted in the film.

[@Billionth_Kevin]

Like if the briefcase could carefully unfold the painting from the stretcher first? That would be cool, lets just pretend it happened

[@BlaReagy]

This is my high-tech art theft briefcase. *"CRUNCH"*

[@kevinbroussard8136]

Fatal unforced error is probably the most succinct description of Mr. Bean that I've ever heard

[@valarya]

I knew Ghostbusters 2 was going to be in this. As a child of the 80s, the guy in this painting STILL scares the bejeezus outta me. 🤣🤣

[@adrianmartin1308]

I didn't know you had swiss roots. I have definitely heard the name Baumgartner here before. Trying to find my way into art conservation and restoration, so thank you for keeping my interest high :) greetings from Switzerland

[@peppersiegel7636]

I’m half Swiss so it was fun to see him mention it

[@2nouli]

About the Toy Story clip, in antiques restoration people usually have a different approach, of removing damaged pieces and finishes and completely replacing them to make it look like how the thing was when new, opposed to art restoration where you try to fix it while keeping as much of the original material as possible. That's according to what I watch on KZbin though, so I don't know if that's considered a correct practice for the field or not.

[@israelquezada9936]

I've been following you since 2020, JUlian, your videos have been amazing, and once I thought it would be great if you made video recations of conservations. It would be great if you could react and review the failed restoration of the Ecce Homo in Spain. Love and hugs from México!

[@Back2VinylLP]

Yes, Julian should review that one. I'm glad to see someone that is also from México around here.

[@juanitogomez8218]

I agree

[@MichaelSteeves]

I've watched some of the BBC Series "The Repair Shop" where they focus on repairing/restoring items of high sentimental value, more than high monetary value. The painting conservator uses some of the techniques I've seen here in a much smaller way, e.g. a small iron rather than a hot table. It is hard not to compare! I get it, but it is so easy to think: "This would be so much better if you were to take the painting off the stretcher and put in on a hot table to reattach that flaking paint!"

[@pizzaqueenieweenie]

I love that show so much! I wish they made a million seasons!

[@glazdarklee1683]

Very clever! I suspect that the smoking was a deliberate attempt at ironic humor, but you were right to call them out on it.

[@joshhoward6351]

You should see The Monuments Men. A WW2 movie about artists from different fields, finding and recovering pieces of artwork, and religious icons stolen by the Nazis. Some sad and funny scenes in there.

[@Shae_Sandybanks]

Ohh I loved that movie!

[@motack2021]

Great book!

[@jonfeist1400]

I’d like to hear your thoughts on Titanic when they pull pencil drawings from a safe that was at the bottom of the North Atlantic for 80 years

[@ohger1]

Another video.. a good day. EDIT: I'm an electrical engineer and the stuff they get wrong in movies is hilarious. I've learned to keep my yap shut when watching movies with my wife, but with my older brother (also an EE), we laugh out loud. Second edit: I want to hear the story about the water color over the oil painting!! We all do Julian!!!

[@dbevry3424]

My father was an airline mechanic his whole working life, and he would always pick apart airplanes in the movies 😅

[@KSignalEingang]

It's Sjöberg's Law: any representation of a skilled profession in movies or TV will inevitably piss off members of that profession. Ask any archaeologist about Raiders of the Lost Ark...

[@ohger1]

@@dbevry3424 Your dad must have *loved* Bruce Willis dropping a match onto "jet" fuel (heating oil really) in Die Hard and watching it not only ignite by match (impossible) but more impressively the flame front catching up with a jet airliner right at rotation!!

[@ohger1]

@@KSignalEingang Ah, there's the difference between technical people who love movies and jerks. Many skilled people don't get pissed off, they smirk and enjoy the movie or TV show anyway. I always wondered what doctors and lawyers think of movies??

[@jdb101585]

@@ohger1 It's maddening because people who *don't* know how something is done, then go on and act as if they now *do* know...because they saw it on tv or in a movie. 🙄

[@GeorgeCarlin88]

5:56 everyone was waiting for this day. I waited patiently for years, I said "one day, one day..." and finally... ;) excuse me guys I was very touched.

[@yetzt]

11:20 what? you always look spiffy, julian.

[@Shae_Sandybanks]

The Mr Bean art damage is so funny. I want that as a poster

[@the98themperoroftheholybri33]

I think Bean's restoration is an improvement

[@kneecapthief6464]

“Paintings aren’t alive” Ok, I’ve learned something new today. Thanks!

[@DaveChurchill]

1:30 - He knows the exact model of toy he's working on, it's not some unknown ancient painting.

[@gingivitis9148]

I don't disagree but like if the toy wasnt exposed to chemicals that might has effected the paint. Maybe woody also had a run in with Mr bean???

[@crystallionaire]

I love how much ive learned about art conservation thanks to this channel 👍this is one of the best parts of what the internet is

[@fernbedek6302]

Huh, lacking the two I thought of: Home for the Holidays and Still Walking... which are oddly similar moves about art conservators going home to visit their dysfunctional families.

[@tonyaboyer4547]

I also came here to suggest Home for the Holidays, if this becomes a series!

[@RandomCorvid]

The Tea with Mussolini scene makes sense considering that she is restoring a wall painting. Can't exactly remove the wall to take to a lab haha.

[@AntonioDiasDePaula]

I get excited every time you upload a new video!! Love from France!

[@blubbblubb6239]

Would love to see an episode on how an artist could construct sth easy to conserve, or how conservators would love it ;-) like: which type of wood, how to fix the canvas, which painting style, which kind of varnish etc. :D

[@devernepersonal3636]

exactly i think thats what we would all rather see indeed.

[@Ragnar8504]

Mr. Bloomfield (Bloomfield Art Restorations) sometimes talks about that in his videos. One thing I remember is waiting before you varnish an oil painting, waiting for several months.

[@Dreymasmith]

"Touch it up" is how Rembrandt's Arquebusiers became The Night Watch. And if you want real horror stories, look at how pre C20th art practice is depicted in films and tv - truly skin crawling.

[@RyanMercer]

Ooooh more more more!

[@ScarletShade13]

This is such a cool idea! It's a ton of fun watching you pick apart these scenes

[@larissaorozco3255]

Whenever I watch expert’s react to movies/tv show I’ve always hoped you’d make a video like them.

[@rbeehner2]

I had not noticed just how much art conservation is depicted on screen. Enjoyed this video.

[@Jo-yp8wy]

Well, Julian is just going to have to accept that the conservator in Toy Story knows more than him! 😂

[@Crafter_H]

12:57 😂😂 the chemicals comment got me 😂😂 why do i feel like he is speeking from experience 😂😂😂

[@angiadcock8196]

You know, when you’ve mentioned your father in past videos this is pretty much what I was picturing.

[@yasha.hartberg]

I would never have guessed that art restoration figured in so many films!

[@dragonmaid1360]

Why do i always find these clips 20 min after they post...am i that hooked on watching restoration? Wait did julian just critique an animation lol

[@unavoidablycanadian397]

This was a relly fun break from your regulqr content. I would love to see a second part and one where you react to how Mr Bean fakes a poster into being the real Whistlers Mother painting.

[@ashleyvalentine4343]

seems like a crime to be this early

[@NorthOfEarth]

8:40 How does he not LAUGH?! This man is so serious. Edit: Oh, it's a freeze frame.

[@rebeccatrishel]

I love how Bean improved Whistler's Mother

[@MuddaFuffa]

This was fun! As for Toy Story 2....that's my favorite part of the movie.

[@DeloreanJack]

The amount of self felicitation in this video is substantial.

[@TSIRKLAND]

This is my first visit to your channel. Very entertaining, and informative! Thank you! You've gained a new subscriber. And I'm also a Chicagoland resident, so local support!

[@CaffHCloudlow]

Didn't expect to get movie recommendations from this video. I know its not your usual content, but thank you

[@IDidntSetAHandle]

8:51 - This is the best use of the word "collaboration" I have ever heard

[@dopedreamz]

I’ve been watching you for quite a while you’re my favorite conservator.

[@anitasmith7764]

I had NO CLUE there were so many movies w art conservation in them! 😂 so cool! Even if it DOES kill me to watch what they did to a few of them😂

[@Beeytress]

Home for the Holidays-1995. Holly Hunter is a conservator! Love that film.

[@dbevry3424]

Love that movie!

[@DrDooms13]

He’s so adorable and I love closing my eyes and listening to his voice 🥰

[@earthknight60]

I'd like to see Julian do an "everything is wrong" type conservation video, where he adds or removes things like beards and mustaches, changes elements of the painting, swaps out colors, doesn't use the right materials, etc.

[@Nathanm7977]

I have been watching you for years, and while I have observed many types of skills and can predict the next steps sometimes, your work is art onto itself.

[@Susan-nm3sx]

Honestly, Mr Bean drawing over whistlers mother, is beyond hilarious. 😂😂😂

[@BekkiBicci]

I couldn’t believe the thumbnail, I commented about reacting to the Mr Bean restoration a couple of months ago on the second faceless painting video, and I’ve no idea if he even saw it but I’m just so pleased to see his reaction 🤩

[@markpavlidis6464]

The Mr. Bean one is always so funny to me, one of my favorite movies and I would've loved if he reacted to the follow up part where he "restores" the painting

[@he_was_a_skater_dog]

Uncovered is such a great movie, it's the first thing that came to mind I saw the thumbnail. It's a type of thriller that for some reason doesn't get made anymore. Thanks for the great content!

[@PenneySounds]

I like how you went straight from a scene from "Bean" featuring Peter MacNicol to a scene from "Ghostbusters 2" featuring Peter MacNicol.

[@GTXDash]

Two scenes with actor, Peter MacNicol, back to back with Bean and Ghostbusters 2.

[@jackgwynn2016]

Mr bean is an artistic genius we just don't yet comprehend. Bravo 🎉

[@samanthadean1083]

I love how Julian is just tearing these scenes apart!!! 😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣

[@5alpha23]

For some reason I now want to see Julian paint a moustache on a painting of a woman with a double chin...

[@hundredfireify]

Going from producing a multi-episode documentary behind-the-scenes of the fine art industry, to doing a react episode. How cool is that? I'm a big fan of your work as content creator

[@judithcatlett8518]

Enjoyed this video. Great idea. Don’t hesitate to do it again.

[@jellymellon87]

I watched a lot of Julian's restoration works, and while they're incredibly done, I believe Mr Bean's conservation of Whistler's Mother was the best I've ever come across. 😂😂

[@86fifty]

Yessss, this is a great format for Julian! Concentrated bits of knowledge in direct reference to existing media! Bit of a nostalgia trip for me, too, being around Julian's age, to see the 90s hair and makeup again XD

[@sakat0800]

Love this! I now know how to ~professionally~ steal a painting from a museum. Must be done at night, guys! Thank you for the tips lol (i'm kidding ofc)

[@nanagaga2001]

Fascinating video! Thanks Julian.

[@haley_ish]

This video was so much fun and also shockingly informative 👏👏