Restoring the Count, but which one ?

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A wonderful 17th century portrait enters the studio this week, we have an inscription on the back with some clues and a massive tear to contend with! We begin the thread repair process and strip line the portrait and then begin to research who he may be....
Tutorial Element: This video contains detailed instructons and materials needed for thread repair and strip lining
Books : Memoirs of the Count du Grammont by Antoine Hamilton
Equipment:
Iphone 14pro
Yeti Blue Mic
Edited with Adobe Premiere
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ABOUT Bloomfield Art Restoration Is an unlimited series exploring the art restoration of oil paintings, period history, and artists lives.
ABOUT Bloomfield Art & James Bloomfield Bloomfield Art specialise in all aspects of art restoration, oil easel painting restoration and fine art conservation. We offer fine art restoration and picture cleaning services across the North West of England, We also offer a National Painting Restoration service. Bloomfield Art is an associate member of the British Association of Paintings Conservators - Restorer's (BAPCR) . We have a selection of quality antique oils for sale please vivit our website to see our current stock, we offer free international shipping:
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We have completed art restoration work on behalf of Christies London, National Gallery Ireland, the NHS, local authorities, schools, churches and historic houses. We have also worked on paintings by Sir Terry Frost, Ambrose McAvoy, Mary Fedden, Kyffin Williams, Robert Lenkowiez, Helen Bradley, L.S Lowry, R.R. Reinagle, J.Hoppner, W.Sant and many more. James Bloomfield is an accredited Art Restorer and Artist and has worked on 1000's of oil paintings. He was selected for the prestigious John Moores painting prize in 2012 and has his artwork in museum collections in the UK. He lives and works in Manchester England.

[@mamabear162]

I enjoy watching your traditional techniques and love the history research. You really bring these paintings and their subjects back to life!

[@Bloomfield_Art_Restoration]

Thank you ! glad you enjoyed it!

[@suthompson6403]

Marvellous. Looking forward to the mysterious Count being restored to his full glory. Outstanding work to fix the "damage in transit" - you'd think the auction house would take better care of a 300+ year-old painting...😱

[@Bloomfield_Art_Restoration]

Thank you, yes it is a bit of a mystery for now, not sure who eactly he is. Auction houses are very busy environments at the best of times and unless you pay for extra packaging you run the risk of something being damaged.

[@Thetabc24]

I love the trusty typewriters as weights. Great new use for old tech.

[@Bloomfield_Art_Restoration]

Yes they do come in handy! I had a thing for typewriters a few years ago and these are whats left of my collection!

[@HenryLoenwind]

And when you're done, you can use them to write the bill. Has more impact that way. ;)

[@coco805]

Great video! I like Baumgartner, and honestly think your videos are even more informative. Hope you find lots of new subs soon!

[@auroraasleep]

Hint from a former clothier who regularly made more yards than I want to remember of hand-picked fringe: a t-pin and a quilter's cutting mat will make quick work of the lining strips you are making. No finger nails necessary. It speeds up the process by about 3x from hand picking. Hold the strip with your off hand & forearm, and pick 2-3 wefts out at a time, pull with the last 2 fingers. Coarser canvas will pick faster than finer, obviously. It's still tedious, but hopefully that helps.

[@Jules_Pew]

Nice to see a Lely done. I've been admiring his work for a while.

[@Bloomfield_Art_Restoration]

Thank you , its a lovely portrait just need to work on that attribution ?

[@judewainwright]

I've been gone so long! But now i get to relax and catch up on a whole bunch of restoration vids! Bravo jim :)

[@Bloomfield_Art_Restoration]

Yay !!! Welcome back Jude !!! X

[@nickimontie]

Gosh, the stories this painting could tell!

[@Bloomfield_Art_Restoration]

I know theres a lot of history there!

[@dragonmaid1360]

Lovey work thank you for sharing

[@katherinesavage1353]

Ok, so now it's clear what I have to do, wish me luck 🤣

[@PINTandDALE]

An exciting new project! I look forward to the next step. Thanks!

[@Bloomfield_Art_Restoration]

Thank you! yes hes a great portrait , cleaning coming soon!

[@timhazeltine3256]

"Damaged in transit"..A thought that passes thrrough my mind when an artwork is shipped.

[@Bloomfield_Art_Restoration]

unfortunately it happens all the time ...

[@patriciacooney5705]

Looks like there could be a lot of hidden work to do in this one. The scan didn't appear as clear as one would hope for. Looking forward to the cleaning. I'm sure you will make him glow in the end.

[@Bloomfield_Art_Restoration]

He should come up nicely, I think the client wanted to scan the painting more to record the writing on the back should it need to be lined. He's been through the mill a bit and there will be a few surprises Im sure...

[@larkmurry7808]

Tantalizing...

[@christineingram55]

I think in the industry you are in,the fact your not sloppy with things like this ,or any of your work goes so much to your credit and that’s why you get to do some amazing restorations.Even in this business now days there are some who cut corners and don’t have the work ethics ,and they still call themselves restorers.if I had an expensive painting ,I would do so much research before settling for one to do mine .Obviously I don’t have any or the money.But it goes to show that you still have to be wary..I watched one and he made a right mess from beginning to start.You have really opened my eyes to how skilled true restorers are ..Love watching you work.Hence I was one of your first patrons ,and because your from the UK and I like to support our skilled people 🥰

[@Bloomfield_Art_Restoration]

Thank you, I didnt realise how anal I could be until I see it back, sometimes things have to have a certain aesthetic and I do love chasing perfection even though it doesnt really exist...

[@matthewcondon1985]

Beautiful painting! Looking forward to seeing it cleaned.

[@Bloomfield_Art_Restoration]

Very soon! thank you!

[@susansouthern6704]

Good job..love how you ad the history ..

[@Bloomfield_Art_Restoration]

Thank you !

[@miriamkasseris9313]

I love learning the history of the paintings. Your videos are always enjoyable to watch. 😊

[@Bloomfield_Art_Restoration]

Glad you like them! thanks for watching

[@slinkysmom5674]

The dental tool was a Hollenback carver usually used on silver amalgam restorations

[@Bloomfield_Art_Restoration]

Thank you I knew someone would know! I had a dentist client recenty and he gave me lots of info on tools, just wish I had written it down...

[@francinehardin7883]

It looks like William of Orange, but what do I know.

[@Bloomfield_Art_Restoration]

It does have a look of him, especially in the nose ...

[@andreasalvatoreberzolari4428]

😊 Greetings and compliment for your good job ! I follow you and your interesting next works.

[@darlene2662]

Enjoyed this thankyou! Very interesting!😊

[@Bloomfield_Art_Restoration]

Glad you enjoyed it !

[@hullabaloo-hcd]

Enjoy watching, you should do more 🧡

[@pef1960]

Love it, thank you.

[@Bloomfield_Art_Restoration]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@quenoselecruzenadie]

Love it “ Our next patient” 😄 so true! Question: it looks like the burnishing tool has a rounded bottom. Would a flat iron be more efficient when gluing down the tacking edges?

[@Bloomfield_Art_Restoration]

I did use the flat tacking iron in the first instance the burnishing tool was just a little extra to make sure there was a good bond I find sometimes the flat iron is hard to get good pressure..

[@dannsherstone1037]

Very interesting video and history! I assume that at least before they dry these natural glues smell unpleasant?

[@Bloomfield_Art_Restoration]

They can be quite pungent! lots of the smells in studio can be strong - eventually though you become nose blind to them !

[@annematten7218]

He looks like William of Orange.

[@Bloomfield_Art_Restoration]

He does - especially in the nose....

[@hennemartin]

👍👏❤️

[@platannapipidae9621]

Wait, that's not Baumgartner...

[@patriciacooney5705]

Oh no. Lol. A British version of Julian, older maybe, different techniques, definitely, but the end results speak for themselves.

[@jugheadjones5458]

Thank goodness. Mr. Bloomfield is humble and doesn’t come across as full of himself, and Julian isn’t God’s gift to restoration. I watch Julian and he does good work. So does Mr. Bloomfield. Maybe Baumgartner should learn the glue technique.

[@platannapipidae9621]

@@jugheadjones5458 maybe this guy is, but you, on the other hand...

[@jugheadjones5458]

@@platannapipidae9621 never pretended to be an art conservator. I only conserve and build electric guitars. I’m guessing you’re a conservator?

[@platannapipidae9621]

@@jugheadjones5458 what sort of fucked up day did you have to be so eager to start a fight?

[@bluemonqi]

The spelling of Lely on the back of the painting is Liely, thats a bit weird..

[@josepherhardt164]

If I may ask, how do you decide between cleaning a canvas on a stretcher vs. cleaning a canvas while it's off-mount? I would have thought that cleaning a canvas while it's flat on a supporting surface would be less stress on the painting. BTW, loved the single-strand stitching you did. My hands would likely shake too much to do that detail work! :)

[@Bloomfield_Art_Restoration]

It depends really , sometimes I do clean flat unstretched on the bench, other times its better stretched and supported and on the easel. If its flat and on the bench you can clean harder but that can be detrimental to the painting as you could apply too much pressure. If its stretched you are more aware of the fragility of the painting and have a tendency to go a little more easy if that majes sense...

[@josepherhardt164]

@@Bloomfield_Art_Restoration Ah, I see. Thanks so much for the feedback!

[@ari-etta]

I'm wondering... Why do you put the painting back on the stretcher before cleaning? I was thinking that while it is flat on the table that would much easier and less stress on the repair.

[@Bloomfield_Art_Restoration]

It depends on the painting , if it is flat on the bench you can have the tendency to be a little more aggressive with the amount of pressure you apply to the paint surface. In this case I stretched it first and this makes me more sensitive in my approach, especially since this surface was quite fragile. If it had been relined I would probably have done it flat on the bench knowing that the paint surface had been treated and was secure.

[@stephanemami]

I'm not a wig specialist, but I would question the attribution to Lely: he died in 1680 but for me this wig would be around 1700. The shape, very high into two "horns" or so. Remind me of Louis XIV by Rigaud. Even the portrait of Hamilton you found, is dated around 1700 by the National Portrait Gallery. Maybe the writing is misleading? The face seems very well painted, quite mastered really, but the clothing not as good, the angle between face and shoulders even odd. I saw online it was attributed to a certain Simon Pietersz Verelst. Any idea why?

[@Bloomfield_Art_Restoration]

Im not sure on the attribution to Simon Pietersz Verelst as he seems to be more known for his still lifes, its something I will look into though. As for the Wigs Im no expert either but this style of full bottom wig were popular in the court from 1620's onwards and were often family heir looms as they were so expensive. They were eventually outlawed by Queen Anne in the early part of the 18th Century as she hated everythig French! This style was popularised by Louis XIV.

[@Asdfhjkl998]

You are soo handsome ❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@mirandadunsmore-gladue5477]

👋♥️🇨🇦

[@basbas768]

Where's the cleaning of the painting? Is this the second part?

[@Bloomfield_Art_Restoration]

Second part coming very soon!

[@colinsmith6116]

Would it be quicker and better to use a vacuum cleaner

[@Bloomfield_Art_Restoration]

sometimes the dirt is quite stubborn , once loose a vacuum would probably be more efficient - the variable speed conservation ones are on my wish list as my previous one packed in...they are expensive though so need to save up...

[@turtlegrams6582]

📯🕘⏳⌛; why such big tacks ? & Why wouldn't you use small tacks for the back, Not glue . Sounds like their royal debulchary is the same as the royal debulchary of 2019-2024