Art Restoration Fail - Epilogue

This epilogue video has been made public thanks to my Patreon subscribers who not only enjoy ad and sponsor free videos a day early, but the ability to ask questions and have them answered in epilogue videos. It's one of the really cool things that's come about from making these videos and I've learned a ton from answering questions and having to audit my own thinking. Fascinating dialogues and conversations have broken out amongst them and it's pretty amazing to watch!
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00:56 - Did the owner know just how bad the old work was?
03:09 - Would x-ray or infrared imaging been useful to see through the overpaint to the original paint layer?
05:20 - Did the paintings not have a varnish layer, and isolation layer or anything separating the original work from the new work?
07:05 - What was the discoloration on the reverse of the painting around the face?
08:12 - Why couldn’t an eraser have been used to remove the adhesive?
10:08 - Talk about solvent exposure and how it’s not great for you.
11:21 - What would you have done if you couldn’t remove the signature form the back of the canvas?
13:05 - Talk about the decision to blur out the name of the previous conservator.
14:24 - Two questions: did the owner have to pay for the old work? And, did you reach out to the previous practitioner?
17:07 - On to the front: how did it get like that, how did I know it could be fixed and a few musings on challenges and creativity.
19:48 - WHY no x-ray and what was it like revealing the painting from under all that overpaint?
21:32 - Have you ever found a piece so damaged that recreating parts of the image were necessary?
23:16 - Talk about that twist at the end with a second portrait.
24:01 - Any advice on how to find a good conservator so to avoid disasters?
26:46 - Bye!!
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[@BaumgartnerRestoration]

Hey friends, thanks for catching the error I made in not blurring out the name for this epilogue video. I've since corrected it and I really hope that everyone will be kind and let sleeping dogs lie. No reason to get into the mud.

[@bettablue2660]

Your Patreon is terribly expensive! Next level Patreon price is the Disney channel and the top level is as high as HBO/MAX. Does your entertainment level match these?

[@ali-cq8fj]

@@bettablue2660 don't buy if you're not happy with the prices 🤷‍♀

[@kimikaami8498]

youre not just paying for the content. youre paying for all the years and years and YEARS of experience it's taken to give Julien the ability to make such content. And besides, its unreasonable to expect 1 or 2 people running a small business by themselves to be able to charge as little as a multimillion dollar corporation. get some perspective, man. @@bettablue2660

[@pistolannie6500]

Talking of admonishing the person that did the "conservation"🙄...That person May NOT even BE doing that anymore. And... Are they even Still Alive? 🤔

[@DPush420]

Now I can't see your shoulder.

[@machupichu3501]

Julian can you restore my life

[@ImLazz]

for real!

[@normsti000]

Has your life been overpainted recently?

[@asmodon]

Does your life have an isolation layer?

[@MarcAmengual]

Has your life been exposed to humidity changes?

[@chrish1657]

Can you tolerate a thorough scraping?

[@andrewwatson5486]

Julian's Patreon subscribers are definitely Tacks not Staples...

[@feeling-dizzie]

Literally true -- one of the patreon tiers is Tacks. (The other is Gold Leaf)

[@Superb-man]

I eat staples

[@Superb-man]

@@ytuser27 I’ll do it again

[@karenneill9109]

They asked every question I had!

[@fionam7768]

Perfection. Twice in one video. Must go and lie down now, this doesn't usually happen on my part of the Internet....😮

[@lionvader]

Julian is so far ahead in this profession with his skills, my dude is already living in 2028

[@giuseppefazio4887]

💀

[@sobertillnoon]

He was scraping the rabbit skin glue off a painting for so long in 2028 that he scraped a hole in spacetime itself and warped back to now.

[@Chr.U.Cas2216]

@@sobertillnoon 👍👌👏 😁😁😁 Yeah, a wormhole! Best regards, luck and health in particular.

[@WatchDragon]

Academic conservation Reddit always seems to have an axe to grind with him

[@BaumgartnerRestoration]

I studies arts, not maths... ;)

[@skippymagrue]

A lady came into the quilt shop where I worked and had two poorly made Tshirt quilts she had paid $3,000 for. She was sick and couldn't do anything about with the maker because they were family. They hadn't quilted them, which is what she paid for, and it was my privilege to finished them for her and put a memorial patch on them over the maker's signature for the ladies brother who had died and who's shirts they were. They turned out beautifully and we charged her the minimum. She was so happy!

[@ooooneeee]

Not all heroes wear capes. ❤

[@Jude74]

Comments like this are my favorites. When other artisans chime in with their own stories.

[@fionam7768]

Bless you, you angels - although you probably already think u are in being able to do this xx❤❤❤❤

[@tenneluna6948]

I'm spanish. I remember the whole Ecce Homo fiasco, which happened due to a lack of funds and a small church entursting this artwork to whoever offered themselves to "restore it" for cheap or for free. After it went horribly wrong, the old lady that restored it was publicly mocked for her efforts and had panic attacks for weeks. I believe in not shaming the author of the restoration, if he signed it too he truly believed he did good work. We don't know if it was narcissism or just ignorance; people found he was an artist after all, not a restorer, and things that are commonpractice with artists (signing work) they may not know it's a big no in restoration. In Spain no one blames the old lady for Ecce Homo. We constantly suffer from terribly botched restorations and it's because most of our city halls find no value in culture and preservation, so there is no budget for such things and a lot of ignorance and wanting something cheap over something legitimate. It is the owner of the piece who has the responsability to preserve it well by entrusting it to a professional RESTORER, not an artist, not a grandma; it doesn't matter if those people thought they were up to the task. Yes, the artist should have declined, but people who don't do a certain work often think it is easy and they could do it as well due to ignorance. I studied an art degree and restoration was an entirely different degree even if imparted in the same building. Artists who have 0 knowledge of restoration should not overstep their boundaries and take in this kind of work nor should they be commissioned ever with restoration tasks to begin with, no matter if they work well in their own paintings. People going out of their way to doxx the guy like he did something evil are doing too much and reminding me of that poor old lady who didn't know any better and just did her best.

[@annwilliams6438]

Yes. Thank you. I am amazed at how folks these days would be willing to make someone’s life an absolute misery, hunt them down and destroy them - for a painting (and not even a famous work either)! It is chilling to read these comments with people baying for blood. And if the person landed up committing suicide after having been harangued, the commenters wouldn’t take any responsibility…. All too often these days we are quite happy to let the internet be the bucket for our hatred without consideration of the consequences.

[@RetiredRhetoricalWarhorse]

@@annwilliams6438As so often, there's the added irony of the same baying people crying foul the moment someone even dares having a differing opinion to them. All it takes for one single fuck-up to garner public interest... it's not like anybody out there has none... Most of us have just been lucky enough for them to stay relatively private.

[@notfeedynotlazy]

Hate to start a commenty with "Actually...", but actually, the ecce mono fiasco was not a church trusting the work to an amateur for lack of funds - was a totally unskillled (not even amateur) old lady doing it on her own, with nobody asking her to do so (let alone pay her for it), out of "devotion" (quotes to indicate quotation, not sarcasm). Which is a pretty good indication of why the fiasco was so fiascoso. Vamos, que la lió pequeña, la doña. Fortunately for her, almost all of her fellow citizens of her small town knew the circumstances (including the devotion part), so the backlash at her was more of a mere "look, lady, better if you don't do it again" actually good-humored kind, that what she would have received if she had been asking money (no matter how little) for that fiasco. She felt bad about it anyway, *because* she was actually a good person. But the person who did THIS thing *is* in sore need of some shaming of his work. Not, I repeat, *not* in need of an army of internet tough guys doxxing him forever; that would be innaproppiate. But also NOT free of the well-deserved point and laugh, "dude, that was shit", BECAUSE he was not an old little lady doing stuff for free out of devotion - was a narcisistic "artist" whith a hugely overblown idea of his own skill and value that needs to be brought down a notch for his own good. Shame on him, as the English line goes. Nothing more than his 15 minutes of shame, but he DOES deserve them. EDIT: To clarify: Doxing him and roasting him IRL= bad, nobody deserves that. Roasting him in the comments section of this video = good, he deserves that much.

[@jackfntwist]

Maybe it was the client demanding something be done to "fix" the painting. I am an artist, and clients (occasionally) have very unreasonable demands. They are so blinded by a particular obsession that they are willing to lose a lot of money, and kill an entire work of art, only to do exactly what they want.

[@raerohan4241]

​@@jackfntwist How can you say that when you literally heard what the client's intentions were for sending in the painting for restoration the first time? And yes, he might have been lying, but considering the damage (asides from the overpainting) it had that Julian fixed matched the request to a T, I'm inclined to think it was the truth.

[@catann4606]

Thank you Patreon subscribers and Julian! You are all washi kozo, the exceptionally strong and reliable people that help hold this channel together when the hard work needs to be done!

[@emiliawilson4378]

😂😂😂😂😂

[@nerdgarage]

Your comments regarding how you handled the signature and about the client having to pay for the original, uh, disaster are exactly why many of us love watching you. It's not just the work, which is awsome to watch, and to hear the explanations, but it's also the man behind that work, and his principles.

[@CallieMasters5000]

100% certain there would be a defamation lawsuit wasting his time if Julian named and shamed the bad restorer. He/she would say the work was OK and just a matter of personal preference.

[@Principal_Behaviour]

I like how he blurred it out in the original video in order not to shame the previous conservator, but here can be seen clear as day at 7:10.

[@DianaZhuk-vx5jk]

​@I_am_never no it's still blurred out wdym?

[@cindykincade589]

I absolutely agree!

[@Sacrer]

@@Principal_Behaviour Is that Tucker's Art Studio? Can't make it out

[@favouritemoon4133]

Many thanks to Julian's Patreon subscribers [and Julian, of course!].

[@violetsnotroses3640]

This reminds me of the time I had the privilege of seeing Artemisia Gentileschi’s Judith Slaying Holofernes (1612). The museum docent giving the tour said that scans showed some pretty significant overpainting on the subjects’ faces that couldn’t be removed because it was so old, and that the overpainter had likely softened the women’s features so they looked less harsh or angry. It still bothers me that we’ll never really see what Gentileschi herself intended.

[@evangeline77x]

​@garyallen8824Unfortunately no, @12:21 Julian explains exactly why that would be impossible. Also, I may be misremembering but, iirc, the painting OP is referring to was actually altered by the artist, not a later third party/overpainter. Gentileschi herself reworked the painting multiple times over and made at least 2 versions of the same scene. So whatever exists is what was intended by the artist. Though some later damage was incurred when, at some point, outer portions of the canvas were cut to resize the painting. But aside from that nothing has been done to alter the actual figures.

[@richglenn3729]

So many times I’ve looked at a painting you were about to restore and thought to myself that there was no possible way…. Yet you always come through like the pro you are.

[@tracyroweauthor]

I'm an artist and there are times I'm watching him do retouching and I'll be like, no that's not the right color or no, that doesn't blend properly or he's not going to be able to fix that. But now, I just think to myself, it's Julian. I'm sure he sees that and he will fix it. And he always does.

[@unavailable753]

I admit when I saw the painting in the video it did not look like a restauration at all, to me it just looked like a rather bad painting (and given that everything was overpainted I was not really wrong). It was all the more gratifying to see that there was beauty underneath.

[@alisav8394]

I agree! Although I still think the painting is ugly.

[@ophello]

*restoration

[@timk8869]

​@@alisav8394the face is just looking a bit weird, but that could be weird genetics or an artist that cant draw face's. The rest actually looks pretty nice

[@rai1879]

​@@timk8869or the skinning Julian mentioned 😢 but yea... Ugly hahaha

[@raerohan4241]

​@@timk8869 Yeah, it could easily have been someone with some... less conventionally attractive features. Definitely were some gorgeous eyes on that portrait though

[@gregmunro1137]

I am so happy that we were allowed to hear the epilogue. It answered many questions . For the ‘artist’ that did the ‘conservation ‘- could they be sued for damages? ( especially if they aren’t qualified) ?

[@KristenK78]

Probably, in theory, but it would probably cost more in legal fees than the client would recoup in damages.

[@KristenK78]

Especially if, as I suspect, he is deceased. There’s no point.

[@Mosstoad]

​@@KristenK78the shoddy 'conservation' was done in 2013, unless he specified that the 'artist' died then he's probably still around

[@urbanlatinfemale]

@@Mosstoad Some folks sleuthed out the conservator from the signature that was not blurred out, he has indeed passed away. There is a thread further down in the comments.

[@dburgd99]

@@urbanlatinfemale Its sad that he took the time to block out the name yet people still did their own "sleuthing". Exactly the opposite of what he seems to have intended. This comment thread is just sad. I agree that if you throw mud you get dirty too.

[@Metonymy1979]

I just want to thank the family for letting us see the re-restoration even though it's so embarrassing what happened.

[@noatomics8466]

6:49 can you see the botched over paint on his shirt, his shoulder lost nearly all of the intricate decorations

[@mettemettrixx]

Patreons; I cannot support BR financially right now, but as so many other people in here, I am very greatful that you help Julian to keep filming. We are so very many people that appreciate both his work ethics, results and general philosophy. Thanks again and have a really brilliant autumn from Mette in Norway:)

[@fionam7768]

I'm in the same position, and I so appreciate the Patreons sharing this with us. Promise I'll pay it forward xx

[@belphegor_tv]

You already support him financially by watching the video.

[@sgtleobella]

2013...15 years or so...covid really messed up our sense of time 😂

[@TrustyEngineer]

For me 2013 was yesterday, sooo... Looks like time is warping in any direction 😆

[@sgtleobella]

​@@TrustyEngineerIt's weird. I'm 41, so 2013 feels like just a couple of years ago in some respects, but in others it feels like 20 years ago haha

[@cpgvonc7568]

I think he may be from the future...

[@chumpers4828]

He's an artist, not a mathematician.

[@bcgrote]

It's been 84 yeeeeearrsss.... 😂

[@JulianKingman]

Julian: I didn't want to reveal the conservator, because I know the internet The internet: We have a very particular set of skills

[@CallieMasters5000]

Unleash the Kraken. Winter is coming. 😳

[@shadowridge2742]

True. 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@DianaZhuk-vx5jk]

I was wondering if someone found the "conservator" yet

[@tracyroweauthor]

@@DianaZhuk-vx5jk they did. It's in another thread.

[@BaumgartnerRestoration]

Trust me, when you're on the receiving end of those "skills" you have a different perspective on what privacy means.

[@daniellassander]

This is a story about me and my electrician, i bought an old house and the electrical system didnt work all the well so i hired an electrician, she came and looked over my electrical system in the house and said she could reduce the problems that i had and it would be fairly cheap or i would need to basically redo all the electrical work throughout the house. It wasnt the right cables, too small diameter and wrong insulation in many parts of the house. So at first i just hired her to reduce the problems that i was experiencing, she did a good job so i asked her to redo some wiring in the house as well, she did another good job. So i asked her how much i was looking at to redo all the electrical stuff, she said how much and i said i didnt have the money right now, so she asked how much i could pay per month, so we worked it all out. Over the course of a few months she fixed everything electrical in the house, but since she had been there so often we knew each other pretty well too and she knew what i worked with, basically economics. A few months later she paid me to look over the economics of her business, she was a single electrician running her own business to earn money to her and her family, so i did, there were some minor errors and problems with it but nothing major. Basically it was hard to keep track of income and expenses as they were not separated and sometimes an expense here could be seen as an income there, so it was hard to keep track of. So i sorted it out for her, so its easier to understand and work with, separate bank accounts for income and expenses and a third for money the company has to work with. It was hard to convince her that she was an expense for the company as it had to pay her an income every month but eventually she agreed. Its not like we are good friends or hang out or anything like that, but when a friend of mine is looking for a good electrician, i give them her number. When she has a friend that needs help with economics she sends them my way, it can be something as small as asking what kind of loans they can afford or if its worth to take a second loan on the house. To sorting out a businesses economics because sometimes they are a just a complete mess, so they dont have a clue if they are making money or losing money. Its usually very small scale what i work with but i do have a regular job as well. She is thankful that she can understand the companies economics a lot easier and i am thankful that i have a house that wont burn down and doesnt have any electrical problems any more. Both of us are better off in the end.

[@terrimorrison2857]

You use the term economics, but I think what you are talking about is more accounting than economics at least as I have studied them. My college degree is in accounting and one of my best friend's is in economics. Both involve money but accounting is the term used for the records of income, expenses, profit, loss etc. Very glad the relationship was beneficial to you both. It can be difficult to keep up with the income and expenses of a small business and there are many expenses that business owners don't realize, including paying themselves. Hopefully, it gets realized at income tax time. :)

[@daniellassander]

@@terrimorrison2857 I never studied accounting, i studied economics but i was sort of working with accounting, i was working as a manager and i had to make sure that my small part of the business was making money. At first it was a nightmare, i remember sitting up to 2pm just trying to figure things out because it was impossible to keep track of income, expenses, how much money we had to use etc etc.. So i had to figure out how to be able to keep track of things for the economics side of it all. It was hard and i made a lot of mistakes but eventually i got a system that worked for me.

[@raerohan4241]

Sometimes what sets a great worker apart from a good one is simply which one is honest in their work 😊

[@seaneendelong8065]

How the world and work/service vs needs/wants should be run. I wish we went back to this way of doing business and building an interlaced community

[@andilengcizela]

Thank you Patreon subscribers and thank you, Julian. 💙💜💛

[@chrisdavis1722]

Thanks to the Patreon for allowing us to sit in on the insightful Q&A epilogue. It’s always interesting to see the process and get a little more backstory.

[@cindykincade589]

I'd like to thank Julian and his patreons for letting this video be shown to the rest of us on KZbin! I so enjoyed hearing some of my own questions answered! 😊 ❤

[@goatmealcookies7421]

Really impressed with your kindness to the person who attempted the previous restoration.

[@Elyeys]

Thank you for uploading this for everyone to see. Delight to watch :)

[@lisajahn6839]

Thank you all for making and sharing this fascinating and educational video! I enjoyed this very much!😊

[@MattTester]

Thanks for the patrons for allowing this to go public, I was really hoping to see the painting under blacklight so that was a nice surprise.

[@suepatrick3705]

Thank you Juilian and the Patreon subscribers !! this was wonderful to learn about !.

[@dolphin64575]

I was very curious about how thìs painting looked through UV! Thank you for the photo and explanation, Julian.

[@julianulseth9653]

The two paintings are such a pair that without seeing both one doesn’t really see the whole work. They look so fantastic together!

[@PageCreations]

I appreciate the release of the video. It's nice to hear the questions and hear how you address them. There are so many people out there who are ethically challenged. You're a class act how you approach all of this. Thank you to your Patreon subscribers and you for sharing this.

[@jefflawrentz1624]

This was a real treat to be part of the patron vlog. That was a brilliant conservation you did, Julian. I’d love to know how your father started in the business.

[@lindasacco7635]

Julian you are a class act! I have learned so much from you, not that I would do any conservation, but your techniques intrigue me. Looking forward to even more videos.

[@mira-sturdivant]

i'm SOOO glad for this epilogue. i had so many questions and this answered... probably all of them!

[@rinnachi]

the way you speak of conservation applies very well to so many aspects of life and i’m grateful to hear your perspectives. thank you to your patrons as well for seeing this video broadly published.

[@tkfaf15]

Thank you to all the Patreons who made this possible on youtube & to Julian for taking the time to answer the questions.

[@Ranca666]

Hearing you thoughts and overall outlook on life and challenges is as soothing as your videos. I really appreciate the effort of putting out such a message. Thank you, sincerely.

[@hobbithabits]

You really are a class act. A pure professional. Youre not glossing over anything and giving us the facts. Sometimes things can be remedied and sometimes they cant. Thank you for always being honest! I could watch you work for hours upon hours.

[@laurenglass4514]

Thank you for the wonderful presentation, thank your patrons for sharing!

[@terricollins8450]

Love how you handle situations and that you don't allow yourself to waste your energy on the negative.

[@Ditto787]

Thank you so much for sharing this video (and for patreon folks being ok with this video being shared)! This was super interesting and I'm learning lots, both as an artist and also as an interested viewer

[@ilreput1]

Your ethics are inspiring, as is your work. As an obsessive, myself, I love watching and listening to you. I’ve passed your videos on to many friends, who feel the same way. Thank you for your unwavering dedication to conservation.

[@Kitsune-DAS]

You're really sweet, just in general. I loved watching this video because you have such great personality and you manage to be both very firmly knowledgeable and very humble. Keep being you.

[@emmahardesty4330]

Thanks, great selection of questions, most of which also occurred to me, and fine encompassing responses. The whole project is fascinating.

[@monikaweld5567]

That was very educational and interesting. I really admire your ethos. Not to mention the explanation of the whys you do so. Also, a shout out to all your patreons! ❤

[@thepagan5432]

Thank you Julian, this was a most welcome and informative surprise. You are right that the painting was probably one of the most mistreated I've ever seen. In Europe we've had our fair share of ridiculous "conserved" paintings. I would love to be a patreon but sadly my funds are restrictive. I enjoy your posts so much, I've watched all of the accessible public posts from the start. Thanks again, be safe and well 👍

[@leoniemarks4594]

Thank you for this informative and thought-provoking video. I just want to disagree on one point you made - I for one would NOT find it boring to watch you cleaning a 'boring' painting! I could watch you do that all day. I have actually watched your video 'scraping : a slow descent into madness' more than once, because it just makes me want to try it for myself! lol Finally, L'Shana Tovah to you.

[@marytripp4906]

Thank you so much for this video. I lead a software support team and your discussion of how you approached this project and view challenges is wonderful and something I'm going to share with my team. I really enjoy your videos and always learn something. Thanks!

[@sassywimple]

Very very randomly found you in my recommended, but dude I love your channel. I have legit binged 3-4hrs of content (slow day at work lol). Your narration style is so relaxing, and the care + love you put into your work is inspiring. Not to mention informational. Excited to see more of your content in the future!

[@fionam7768]

If you want your mind blown, check out the multi-part wood panel restorations...

[@jh338881]

A fascinating video would be watching you unbox a new project for the first time, going through your initial assessments, the tests you run to determine which solvents and processes to follow and then how you plan the execution of the restoration. Video 2+ would obviously be the restoration itself.

[@kalinkapavlova9398]

2:40 almost jumped out of my skin wondering if my maths was bungled as that's the year my daughter was born... and she's 10 (as of writing this) lol. Maths confusion aside, I'm just glad, as you and your client were, that you were able to rescue this painting!

[@SuzanneBaruch]

Shana tova, Julian! I think you did the right thing by blocking the "conservator's" signature on the back, and your logic about not wanting to "get into the mud" is solid. A private, brief phone call though may have helped if this person was still in business, as it may have prevented this from happening again. If they refused to listen, at least you tried. But I respect your tact.

[@scaliedog2777]

Thank you so much for posting this one! We all had so many questions and we appreciate you taking the time to tell us more about this poor painting lol

[@misscabbyp7198]

Thank you for sharing the black light image. Exactly as we expected, but satisfying to see how thick it was.

[@Carmastrong855]

This was an especially rewarding video. Fixing someone else's bad, bad work. Right on!

[@shortsweettoo]

What a wonderful video. I learned a lot today and appreciated every bit of it. Thanks Julian.

[@jeniwildbird6795]

Thank you (and your patrons)for sharing this. Your professionalism is outstanding. I hope that your videos help no-one else fall foul of sub-standard "conservation" work, if not by educating the shody practitioners, then by educating more art owners. Always do research, get recommendations, and ask to see previous examples of work - in any trade or business!!

[@johneastmond9092]

Great comments! I especially liked what you say at the end. The people you invite into your home or business need to be upstanding people you can trust and make you feel at ease. I've been in the service industry, dispatching to people's homes and businesses for nearly 40 years. You work to build skill and reputation over a long time. When you find the right person, you'll know.

[@yvonnemccarthy4957]

I wish more people had principles, ethics, and integrity the way you do. Kudos.

[@gospyro]

Definitely fell down the rabbit hole watching you work!! For years I made a good living as an artist, but then a string of events happened and I was unable to paint or draw (writer’s block, complete loss of confidence). It’s been almost 20 years now since I did any real work. Although the past couple years I’ve had moments where I started to paint or draw again, I’d end up falling back into the ‘whatever’ that has blocked me from painting and drawing. Watching your videos, watching the subtle brush strokes, the talk of different methods and materials, has reminded me of being back in school, learning to paint and draw, and then the joy of creating, the need to create and express. Watching you work, and the calm it brings, has made some of the fears stopping me, fade a little. I think it’s time to get the paint and canvases out again. (of course I am also looking back and trying to remember the prep work and materials I used on some pieces, HOPING, I didn’t do anything too foolish, so that my work can out live me and not fall apart!?!)

[@DelphiaStrickland]

Julian, this video really reinforces your high level of integrity. I truly appreciate that you are such a kind person.

[@bryanb1259]

Thank you for sharing this epilogue ❤️

[@SuperDoobiebrother]

I appreciate and celebrate your professionalism and humanity. You are an inspiration and wealth of knowledge.

[@michaelimbesi2314]

The fact that Julian managed to resuscitate these paintings at all after the damage they received is incredible. The fact that he managed to do it so well while still being classy about it and not naming and shaming the person responsible is a testament to the caliber of his personality.

[@Jude74]

Thank you for posting this here. Really appreciate it.😊

[@melindalong6369]

Thank you for sharing this q & a session. This was a fantastic restoration on your part.

[@darilynkrupp6309]

Julian, I think there's a great idea for new videos at 21:24. You say you don't make videos where everything goes well/perfect because they're boring. But you do things in a methodical way and that can be very comforting and calming to watch. I can see a fast-forward video with limited voiceover or informative subtitles delineating what the process is that you're engaged in. Video begins by showing the original, point out the damage (to painting & frame). Then do what you do so well, taking off of stretcher, whatever treatments needed, cleaning, hot table, repairing, scraping, relining, edging, isolation layer, retacking, retouching and finally a top down shot of old fading to the now restored work. [I have watched lawn care, cleaning or snow shoveling videos for their repetitive specific practices and have rewatched some of your videos on fast-forward for the same reason. I will still watch, enjoy and learn from your regular videos at regular speed. The speedier versions would be a way to enjoy watching even more beautifully restored works of art with no boredom involved.]

[@oilonpaper]

Oh, he already has such videos on this channel. Just look for the videos with ASMR in the title. :)

[@bjonesehc]

Now do the botched Salvator Mundi restoration!

[@R.Daneel]

I imagine that painting is far more valuable as is now.

[@bjonesehc]

​@@R.Daneel I was being hyperbolic. However in another world where Julian was given the task of conserving that work, I am sure it would look incredible.

[@talyrath]

That one might be beyond Julian's help. I think I remember reading that she overpainted it so much because her "cleaning" caused irreparable levels of paint loss. At this point, I think there would be more restoration than original.

[@talyrath]

Ack. I was talking about the Ecce Homo restoration, not Salvator Mundi. Salvator Mundi might be recoverable.

[@matthewhelland9258]

@@talyrath The painting was already irreparably damaged by damp. And the artist wasn't even finished with her painting yet, she intended to come back to it after a week or two, but it went viral before she could.

[@maddieadams75]

Thanks for sharing this epilogue. Much appreciated 🤎💛❤️🧡

[@artnerd3727]

The last question is something I’ve been wondering for a while!! I’m so glad you picked it to answer

[@CaptainTwitchy]

Hell of a Ted talk my friend! Seriously, your pragmatic and ethical approach to the work that you do would serve as an excellent example for nearly any industry.

[@damealeta3541]

I love your ethics. Not putting the not-so-great "conservator" on blast has made me admire you even more. As you said, no good could have come from it. Thanks for such informative and entertaining content. 💚

[@kellylandis3492]

Thank you for sharing this! Looking forward to future projects!

[@paulakimmel3280]

I love your videos. They really educatevabd inform the decisions I make as an artist. I eeally don't know of my paintings will survive or be treasured enough to ever need conserving, but thanks to yoir videos I do think about that when creating my work, especially ehen it comes to my mixed media pieces. I appreciate so much your methodical approach and all the thoight that goes into your work. I've learned so much!

[@carolbaker3532]

Such admiration of you for not doxxing the original conservationist. You're smart, ethical and know how to do YOUR job.. People go after others and businesses when it has nothing to do with them and serves no purpose - I thank you for having the awareness to know that the internet is a sewer when it comes to things like this. Kudos. You addressed the issues with the client and addressed the issues with the painting in the current condition before you. Just so well done.

[@kelseymae1366]

I love watching these videos. It’s so interesting and relaxing at the same time. Like I’m so intrigued and I want to watch but it’s also so relaxing that I’m literally holding my eye lids open lol.

[@jeanettekvinlaug2772]

Thanks for making the last two videos in a slower paste. ❤😊

[@Lea-bw9wj]

I'm glad you mentioned why you blurred the signature and why you didn't want to call out the person. I hope some of the people that made comments about wanting to try to track down the person have a reality check and learn a big lesson. It was pretty shocking how many people made those kinds of comments in the original vlog. But it was very heartwarming to see way more people saying leave the person alone

[@Barrysautospares]

Julian: at around 7:11 you have inadvertently left the unobscured signature in frame. I know this is an oversight, so you may wish to amend and re-post

[@sgtleobella]

Your comment made me curious, so I went back and looked. All I'll say is, yeah, he definitely will want to amend and repost.

[@KristenK78]

I think I found the gentleman, and it appears he died in 2014. If anything, at least anonymizing the signature will preserve his memory for others. Let the guy RIP.

[@raukonazgul3419]

was so curious that found the guy (i''m 90% sure). I hope Julian sees your comment and re-posts the vid asap

[@shikinist7481]

Found the guy and his paintings, he remade the painting in his own style....also you can only contact him with an ouija board now

[@ginismoja2459]

Why, is it necessary that he be anonymous?

[@rachelann9362]

Thank you Julian for sharing this with everyone. I had SO many questions about these paintings, and this video answered most, if not all of them. I unfortunately don’t have funds to partake in your patron, but I do enjoy having this glimpse on this particularly problematic conservation work. Note, as someone mentioned, this signature is seen very clearly for a few moments. I don’t know if that was intentional or not, but if you are still worried about people hassling them (or their family in this case) you may want to fix that segment. I admire that you tried not flame the previous worker aside from pointing out what was done wrong or incorrectly. It’s easy to fall on the bashing train and it’s nice to see professionals not engage in that toxic behavior.

[@tracyroweauthor]

I read in another thread that it has since been fixed.

[@caroltanzi29]

Julian: this was most beneficial. I learned a lot. Thank you. Carol from California

[@martincampbell7774]

I write and provide seminars on relationships, whether that be personal, with co-workers or about leadership, etc. I found myself compelled to comment on your strong and positive strengths regarding integrity, authenticity, competence, dedication, accountability, awareness and unity. They are evident in all your videos, but particularly in this video. I do not know if you are aware of this, but you are one of the few people who I have come across that I feel already have what I teach regarding behaviors ingrained into who they are. Thank you for further expanding my insights and understandings for what I do - much appreciated.

[@theotherside8258]

I've talked to very successful people, famous leaders in their field and its amazing how different their methods, ethics, attitudes and professionalism vary yet they still get to the top of their trees. However, you could say they could have got even better though with changes, just like all these people who say 'uncle joes smoked into his 90's it didn't do him any harm' but if he'd given up he might have reached his hundred. I think a big thing in their success though seemed to me that they had stumbled on some crack of least resistance in the system that they seized on and surfed to the top within it before spreading out.

[@amymcdonald8397]

Thank you for allowing us to see this video, hopefully this is an opportunity for others to see the benefit to becoming a Patreon.

[@jamessorby7688]

Job well done and I will say Julian, you never fail to impress with your intelligence, good taste and excellent business sense. Happy to see that you did not reveal the "faux" conservator's name.

[@peterpanda5069]

The dilemma of what to do about another person working in the field without an appropriate level of skill or experience or restraint is super interesting and you handle it well. Plenty of situations where a well-meaning volunter or a dad being a handyman or a person without the contacts or funds to call a professional has done DIY and the result like this or worse. I really appreciate that you discuss your thought process and choices from the standpoint of professional ethics - it’s come up in restorations of extensive loss, attribution, and like this one, in what to do about substandard work. I think the way you talk through it and show your process is a great way to encourage other people to engage with the same reasoning and maybe even prevent art disasters in tbe future!

[@86fifty]

Oh sweet, I am really grateful to get to see this behind the scenes video for this one, it was a doozy! And I really respect your reasoning for hiding the name - it's what I would have done, honestly. If someone really should go out of business, or at least stop doing this one part of their business, they STILL don't deserve all the blasting from the internet, and going to the extra lengths to prevent that does indeed speak well of you as a professional, I totally agree with the person who said that :)

[@rapidfire4202]

Nice guy, great work! Really deserves all success!

[@la_chistera]

Thank you for being so generous and willing to share your passion and your expertise with us! I would have one question: is the client fully aware of the risks of the process? What would have happened if taking the wrong restauration you (and them) discover that the result is a disaster, and both the old and the new painting are unretrievable? Is there an insurance for those cases? Again, thanks for your professionality, your passion, your generosity, your elegance and your attention to detail! You are an inspiration to improve and work better

[@tinlizzie]

My heart sank when I first saw them - flat, no character. It was so pleasing that you did not have to do a huge amount of repairs.

[@margaretpeggymitchell3138]

Thank you Julian, that's a huge improvement, and your 'epilogue' is much appreciated. Oh, and solvents may impact on the human organism in various ways, and may be damaging both in the immediate and through accumulation. You are very wise to be careful and avoid such contact as much as possible, as you well know.

[@annasahlstrom6109]

I was appalled at the horrible approach of the previous conservator. You show paintings the love they deserve.

[@amazinggrace5692]

Thank you Julian and the Angel Patreons!

[@Ginger51]

Thank you Patreon members for sharing! 😍

[@Jules_Pew]

A very pragmatic approach to the overpaint. I'd love to see the easy ones. Maybe an episode with a load of them.

[@I_am_Lauren]

I've never been more interested in being a Patreon subscriber in my life!

[@meeseification]

I'm not rich...but I do contribute $5 a month, and will as long as I'm able. I love his work, and I love making it possible for him to continue

[@randobeantv7712]

I feel like maybe the OG restorer was more of an artist then a conservationist and I hope they take this as an opportunity to learn what truly goes into restoration. I'm sure sense they were local to the owner of the painting that they've been talked to about it and they're not going to get anymore restoration work. I love how even though this was a very frustrating experience, you were very kind to the person considering. I very much apricate the care you've taken for them.

[@ingridcarmak4268]

Loved this video as usual,..looking forward to the next one Julian.…😃.👋fromCroatia.

[@codemonkey2k5]

You sir have an old and very wise sole. Your words strike me as exceptionally profound.

[@gkindustrialmachine1]

Enjoyed both the restoration and the epilogue ... both in one sitting

[@lornaperryman489]

thank you so much for all the insight into your work

[@marylouise2169]

These videos are very interesting. Thank you!