How A Century-Old Italian Marble Statue Is Professionally Restored | Refurbished

Sara Drew is an art conservator at Center Art Studio in New York City. She shows us how Center Art Studio's team restores a century-old marble statue that has broken into several pieces. This includes cleaning it, removing glue from old repairs, reassembling the pieces, inpainting, and polishing the statue.
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How A Century-Old Italian Marble Statue Is Professionally Restored | Refurbished

[@NextToToddliness]

She's like, "I just want to reiterate, we did not break this statue."

[@juliangarces9416]

hahahhaahahah

[@MrWolfSnack]

She's saying that so her pay doesn't get halved. lol FedEx did it.

[@shoutatakeuchi9145]

@@MrWolfSnack lol😂

[@undermoonstars]

I'm always surprised how they use everyday, regular cleaning supplies and tools for ancient, fine art pieces, which make sense since they don't want the materials to be too harsh and damaging. It's the precision and patience in technique that is the most essential training for this job!

[@mitchv.7492]

Because they are bad conservators. Good conservators usually use custom mixes of chemicals to clean, reversible glues and paints and dental tools...

[@MrWolfSnack]

@@mitchv.7492 It's not the fact that they are not good conservators. It's the fact this is not a professional conservatorship. It's just an art college in NYC. They are all students. A college studio is not going to have the budget or means to have $30,000 cleaning supplies like the Smithsonian or the Louvre. This is why they get to work on junk thats already ruined and has little to no value to begin with. They would never be allowed to touch the Mona Lisa for example. The staff are all under 30 years old. If you find more high class art restorers they are usually in their 60s with 40 years of experience. They can fix 1/2 million dollar art pieces and not screw up once.

[@mitchv.7492]

@@MrWolfSnack Thanks for confirming my point.

[@MrWolfSnack]

@@mitchv.7492 Yeah they are good conservators - just not the kind that have the skills to work on national and historical one of a kind pieces. There's so much art, not all of it is super valuable - these guys just work on the lower end art. I'll bet a lot of them probably get clients from the Antiques Roadshow referrals. The "I found this old painting at a yard sale and I want to clean it" type.

[@Xirpzy]

Marble doesnt react like paint. A painting needs very carefully selected chemicals. Stone is a different story.

[@emorysbackyard]

it’s so fascinating how we preserve art for hundreds and thousands of years. It’s one of our only connections the minds and ideas of the ones before us.

[@mikakettunen7939]

Exactly

[@cannabananabis4705]

very well put

[@nd264u7]

When it's beautiful humans instinctively don't want to let it die

[@cinaasgharzadeh308]

She’s like we use a lot of technical instruments in the restoration. We use a spotlight so that we can see. It’s a very special light. It shines a spot.

[@ema6023]

So stupid joke

[@brucewilson1958]

Wonderful work. I'm 68 and have repaired many pieces in my life with whatever I can think of that might work. You folks are professional. Satisfying to watch you work. Bravo.

[@lucydavenport3918]

The Baumgartner viewer in me heavily cringed at the juxtaposition of 'conservstor epoxy' and 'permanently attach'. It's just something that seems so wrong but clearly is what is needed sometimes

[@esobelisk3110]

right! and drilling holes into it, too…. then again, this piece had been broken several times, and clearly needed some added stability. but still, permanently..?

[@ParfaitCup]

I thought the same thing! Like, I'm no expert but my first thought was "huh?? Permanently?"

[@ashharper3090]

I can answer to this ! I'm a MA student in objects conservation. While you don't want to use epoxy as a varnish on a painting, it is sometimes the only viable adhesive for heavy sculptures. Sometimes, every other adhesive would either be too weak, or grow too weak with time. In this case, the sculpture is definietly the most important part of the piece, and you can't risk it falling to the ground because the adhesvie in the base has aged. Also, this is for a private client, the object won't have the kind of protection museum pieces get, and so the conservation treatment has to account for that too. And in this case, the retouching and the plaster fills are reversible. So any potential yellowing of the epoxy isn't problematic. As far as drilling holes into it, it's a fairly common practice in sculpture conservation, again, it is necessary to acount for the weight of certain pieces. Stone and sculptures are not my specialism tho, so I can't say if it's necessary or not in this case, but it's definietly safer. Their are things I would question tho, for exemple the way it is sanded (not the sanding itself of the fill, that's necessary) and the polishing. Different areas of conservation have different ways of doing things, because in many cases some of the main principles of conservation are simply not directly applicable.

[@lucydavenport3918]

@@ashharper3090 this is so interesting and helpful tysm!!!!!!

[@sandieking9007]

I thought the same way! Love Julian!

[@davidcarr7436]

I'm not an artist, but I am artistic. I wish I would have known that you could make a career of doing that, 50+ years ago. The direction of my life would have been entirely different.

[@geoffdundee]

David Carr ...........You should watch ....... Baumgartner Restoration .......... guy restores paintings...nice to watch

[@SunshineCountry]

"The marble is extremely susceptible to scratching" proceeds to use sand paper on it Mostly joking, lol

[@pete3011]

No, thats mostly right. I experiment a little with kintsugi, and even a rank amateur like me has developed better tricks for getting rid of excess material than just sanding it away.

[@Mrstealth93]

Yes. It did look a little excessive, but it seemed to be a very high grit count, maybe 1000 or 2000 grit, which also works better when wet.

[@Qermaq]

@@pete3011 They know what they are doing. A sufficiently high-number grit glass paper will remove debris and leave the marble without detectable damage. Frankly, the polishing step scared me the most - the operator let the left end of the piece get really close to the other wheel!

[@rsmith6366]

It's called 'Wet 'n' Dry'. It's used on plastic (very scratchable), so it's not really 'sanding' so much as 'buffing'.

[@amaraw9893]

Exactly my thoughts actually 😕

[@christieintexas2001]

This was very entertaining to watch! It's great seeing old pieces restored for future generations to enjoy. The piece is stunning!

[@TLugs]

Fantastic work, thank you to everyone involved for sharing the process with us. I would love to see more repairs, or discussion of past repairs in a future video.

[@h7opolo]

finally, a narrator who wields the spoken word with deliberation.

[@aelthen874]

I turned it off a minute in and came to the comments hoping to find someone equally annoyed by her hesitant, unrehearsed narration. Looks like a me problem from here clearly hahah

[@b.m.hm.j.h3310]

@@aelthen874 no same honestly

[@danyloaraujo837]

@@aelthen874 it was painful for me too. It’s like she was narrating it while driving, or doing something else.

[@jennaw6362]

Glad I wasn’t the only one who noticed lol

[@lol-pj6ss]

Beautiful piece. I wonder what it would cost to buy today and how much the restoration cost?

[@III-zy5jf]

I don't know, but I can buy a dozen at a swap meet... jk

[@kl0van835]

It depends if it's storical or not this one cost about 12 k euros or more for the century old... But if you wanna buy a simple marble statue for your garden less than 200 euros about 150 and obviously more quality more money. The restauration this one particular about 3k

[@ioncekilledamanwithmyshoe]

@@kl0van835 wow, great information. How did you know all of this?

[@kl0van835]

@@ioncekilledamanwithmyshoe well it's just a theory based on my art career.😉

[@contagiousintelligence5007]

@@kl0van835 I’ve been trying to get a nice marble statue for my garden. Where shall I look for it?

[@dejangotic]

it is surprising the thing still exists! it is disaster waiting to happen! tiny column with flimsy base that serves as a shelf for disconnected statue probably heavier than the pedestal itself... like some cruel dare challenge in balancing for whoever ends up owning it!

[@ceebeedeebee]

why are your spaces so big???

[@dejangotic]

😁because when I was little and was learning typing on an old typewriter machine, I decided to press space key twice every time as I thought it looked better visually, and then I got used to do it, and to leave one space after commas and full stops, and later transferred the habit to computer keyboard, and it got so engraved in my motion and brain that although I tried to exorcise it many times in later years I have never managed to do so, it just automatically occurs when I type without my influence...

[@antoniomccoy6065]

@@dejangotic Woah

[@lol-pj6ss]

@@dejangotic So, it wasn't to cheat on your homework when asked to hand in a 20 page essay then? 😏

[@dejangotic]

@@lol-pj6ss hahaha no it was not! actually I can not shut up or stop writing once I start so I was usually asked to trim written works substantially, and I guess that would be the case even without using double space, but anyway, I live in Balkans, so in case I wanted to use it to cheat no one would notice, because nobody here notices things such as double spaced gaps!

[@ExpatNatt]

I find these so relaxing to watch. When I graduated I always wanted to go into conservation but never did 😅

[@auroraotw]

I just love it when i get a notification … has subscribed to you or … has liked ❤️

[@justrelaxing1501]

Great job on the restore, but I can see this back in the shop after the clients first party. Ouch!

[@ASmallPoop]

more money for the shop lol

[@BlenderStudy]

Thank you for the update, Insider..!! The end result looks awesome..!!

[@normablake2748]

I’m just wondering if you could use marble and alabaster dust to create a glue to piece the pieces back together? I’m thinking that it would help with color matching. I don’t know anything about art restoration, I’m just curious if my idea would work. Thank you for a great video.

[@TheFiown]

I have a large antique marble 'winged victory or Nike' with a broken wing. I couldn't afford to have it profressionally repaired so I just place the broken wing beside it. Maybe one day.

[@user-id5dx8vk9t]

Шикарно! Тоже мечтаю реставрировать!

[@TheSharoncat]

Beautiful restoration 👍⚜️

[@lornayoga]

So much attention to detail! Love it!

[@erdvilla]

If it got broken twice already, I'd seriously think about putting a translucent scaffolding to support it better 🤔 Without getting visually too much on the way.

[@MrWolfSnack]

Just put C-brackets around the base and make a custom platform for it. Lock the statue base into the platform, no more falling.

[@erdvilla]

@@MrWolfSnack But if you look the top surface and the bust itself are just placed, not secured. So an LA morning earthquake would mean another trip to the restorators.

[@MrWolfSnack]

@@erdvilla I dunno. Unless you strap the whole thing to the wall, I don't know.

[@erdvilla]

@@MrWolfSnack That's why I can't have nice (expensive & fragile) things 😂

[@itpleasesmetosaywhatibelie3822]

Lots of art museums are too poor to pay for every art piece to be supported or protected. Some million dollar art pieces are just protected with a sign. And though I don’t know if this art piece belongs in a museum, I guess things just break.

[@tejasnair3399]

Thank you for using real Classical Music!!! Great video!

[@mellow5123]

Gorgeous. Great job.

[@SpoopyKatt]

That is gorgeous. Great work

[@jarbydones]

"gentle Surfactant detergent diluted with distilled water"...so there is some use for that last bit of bathroom soap with a bunch of water in it lol...😂😂

[@felipeiglesias]

Excellent work. The painting part surely must be a pain in the arse. But great results overall.

[@josefinematildehansenvonki2384]

What a marvelous job!

[@Felix9lives]

"and we are using our ancient drill press" 🤣😂🤣

[@aokimi7190]

Beautiful work!!! Well done👏

[@hersirirminsul]

May I suggest wrapping paper or plastic tape round the ferules of your cleaning brushes? I've done some delicate cleaning and it's too easy to scratch the sides of a deep recess while pushing the bristles into it.

[@singlecatt]

I probably dont know what I'm talking about but... Why can't you use ground marble and resin to mend the marble? I would think that would make a stronger more natural bond.

[@nt_partlycloudy21]

Resin yellows over time, so it would not be a good idea to use resin in a spot where it can be seen. That’s why the plaster is used.

[@FreeSpirit47]

Such a fascinating video. Thank you.

[@SaadNabil]

Now that's what I call remastering the statue!

[@worldwide_cruising]

*Wishing everyone the best sleep of their life after having seen this relaxing video!* 🥰🥰🥰

[@CynymonGirl]

Wow. Impressive. Thanks

[@jeanhawken4482]

Beautiful work

[@chefsanoproductions3265]

Just wondering if using resin to fix that marble sculpture is good or not

[@user-ve8uo2rq3e]

Yes! Yes KZbin! All my life I wanted to see a video about the restoration of a marble bust! Thanks KZbin! Now i can die without regrets!

[@Leroyy536]

What did you seal the paint touch up with?

[@wangox]

I'm just hear to listen to this wondeful calming voice haha

[@danieldevito6380]

Seeing this makes me so proud to be Italian.

[@kasie680]

Seeing it all set up at the end just gives me anxiety 😥 it looks like it could be easily knocked over, the bust is so top heavy, on a very narrow base, I’d have it backed into a right angled corner 😰😰😰

[@nftacitzakyeart1698]

Wow amazing art😲😎✌️

[@agingmillennialmainer]

I can't imagine having such a meaningful and passion utilizing job. This makes me wanna rope on a Monday morning

[@Bluviolet7392]

Fascinating and meticulous, your work is also a work of art.

[@johnathonkraska]

How much did that cost?

[@mrbornin70s]

Circa 2222. "The previous restorer had permanently drilled holes in the precious marble. Today all we're going to do is to heal it with our minds."

[@sevenlights666]

How much does a work like this cost?

[@CalTxDude]

I found this quite fascinating. Thank you so much for posting

[@tokyodrifttt]

Simply Marble-ous

[@violetpencil9614]

As much as I love the paint used to hide the cracks, I’m almost tempted to wish they had done this one Japanese technique where they put goldleaf in between cracks. I feel like cracks in marble or statues is just a great motif it reminds us of the ancient statues of Rome and grease, the gold with contrast the white of the marble very well. I also love the message behind not trying to hide one’s imperfections and that one survives their own scars and becomes more beautiful.

[@Schae_Bee]

That technique is beautiful but art restoration is about restoring to the artwork to how the original artist intended it to be, not to turn it into our own piece of art or change it into something different than the original artist's intention ☺️

[@meetabose6340]

MAGNIFICIENT RESTORATION!

[@carriefuller9939]

I thought they said alabaster is Prone to scratching? But when they were filling the crack on the base, they were sanding with different grits of sandpaper to get the excess plaster.

[@AmateurCpt]

Very good 👍👍👍

[@dxtxzbunchanumbers]

This is very satisfyingly ASMR'ish

[@qhuizatlantis8484]

Satisfying

[@javierpacheco8234]

The past is so much better than whatever they are designing today.

[@brocktoon8]

Doesn't the sandpaper scratch the alabaster?

[@shikasafitri1813]

1:20 She’ll be like: “Ah yes right there it feels goOood~”

[@jennglow4647]

Cool😃

[@TheSharoncat]

I also do my restoration to the sound of the one and the only one my love Mozart

[@NinaHansen2008]

I guess once a person gets hooked on conservation videos (a la Baumgartener), we crop up everywhere with his standards and procedures firmly in mind! 😁

[@straycat1674]

I’ve seen some real screwup jobs on people who supposedly restored artwork worth millions. I would be terrified to touch a single piece because I would be afraid I would do something wrong and be on the hook for all of it.

[@MultiELEPHANT69]

Nice good work

[@scottjackson1420]

She's the Gabriel Allon of sculpture restoration.

[@Poonamsmartkitchen]

Good

[@denwiessimo6088]

The metal of the brush can easily scratch the marble.

[@jhiggs4933]

Use a hand buffer.

[@djaydeved]

tbh if it was me i woulda used gold fill or something eccentric to show the cracks

[@hoorayitsjackie6166]

What a cool job

[@josephkim1909]

They did great restoration, but the original structure looks will be break again soon.

[@persephoneblack888]

This was so cool!

[@xMrJanuaryx]

I am surprised they went with plaster to fill those cracks. Why not just use the clear epoxy.. wouldn't that have provided them with a more translucent effect?

[@rabbitholegirl1]

A client? Damn. I was certain it was for a museum.

[@nicholashana]

I don't understand being scared of scratching it but then sanding it.

[@KyberNexus42]

Geez how much did it cost to repair this?

[@slab6046]

At home I would have used dish detergent, a scrub brush and hose. Lol

[@tymz-r-achangin]

How can it look "incorrect and inappropriate" ? It didnt have patina when it was first presented and neither for a little while after it was carved

[@rawbacon]

Wash it with soapy water and glue it back together.

[@mauricepajayon7376]

When you’re a medical student and all your life you always thought that surfactant is only used to treat RDS

[@jkr9594]

sometimes i am surprised what Americans conciser old. this is shown, as if it was some ancient statue of immeasurable value, while its only from the 18 hunderts. like, my town's church is from 1777, and its one of the 'new' churches in my country.

[@gideonros2705]

The title says a century old and it does have that Fin de siècle look. She probably meant that it’s valuable to the client not that it has some enormous history.

[@djungelskog3434]

Wouldn't a broken statue like this look amazing if they used a kintsugi technique? Damn

[@mnf2139]

It be epic, though not all want that style. I suggest ceramic plats and bowls still instead of statues since it could make it look... off

[@miyawkat8018]

it will be cool but not correct for the time and place the sculpture is created. others also doesnt like it because it takes away the focus from the piece itself.

[@mnf2139]

@@miyawkat8018 Maybe for a modern statue it would be cool. Imagine the statue of David with all that gold line. It does not sit right.

[@felipeiglesias]

And also, it will be incredibly expensive!

[@nt_partlycloudy21]

Maybe if that’s what the client wants, but most of the time clients would most likely want a restoration that would look as close to how it looked when it was made.

[@elousie1187]

Throughout the video, all I think is "what happen if I drop the sculpture"

[@benkei7530]

Astounding

[@jbanders2358]

Some Elmer’s glue should do the trick

[@bry120]

6:42 the lady trying to blow air thru her mask. Hahahaha.

[@youlikedyourowncomment5151]

I wanna know how rich the people are who own this statue.

[@I_WANT_MY_SLAW]

Definitely gated community rich.

[@trashid8350]

@@I_WANT_MY_SLAW Definitely break a century old sculpture twice rich.

[@jokunimi5625]

Probably not very rich considering that the statue is only a century old.

[@davidarundel9739]

A special conservation epoxy known as “EpoTek?” She sounds like a social media manager.

[@psybon1498]

😲😲😲😲

[@putrasty]

Bgm name?

[@YouCanCallMeAndrew]

I can’t tell if ancient drill press is an actual restoration machine or a call for more funding?

[@James-3000]

Art major heaven

[@matthewfocke5360]

Magnifeack!

[@polynomy8511]

The statue was contemplating about their life choices

[@Treasures776]

Probably cost around $10,000

[@Continentalmunkey88]

Taj Mahal sigh

[@goldschool9050]

That statue screams knock me over

[@worldcitizeng6507]

The client needs to put it in a glass cage, no more repairs!