How an art conservator cleans and restores an old master painting

I love watching videos of paintings being restored. My jaw drops every time when I see just how mucky some of them are - and how much sheer dirt is hanging alongside the painting!

Below are two videos produced with and by Baumgartner Fine Art Restoration in Chicago.  They are both about the process of restoration of a painting.

• The first one is short (1 minute 38 seconds) - produced by a company working with Baumgartner
• The second one was made by Baumgartner and relates to just one painting and is longer (9 minutes 23 seconds) - and is narrated. The processes are explained as they happen. 

They work according to a set of principles

Our philosophy is to alter the artwork as little as possible with respect to the original intention of the artist. To that end, we examine each work of art closely and tailor our methodologies to meet both the needs of the painting and client. We use only the finest materials and techniques which are found in major museums around the world. In accordance with our belief that restoration should be noninvasive, all of the work we do is fully reversible and in accordance with the AIC Code of Ethics

Definitely worth a watch if you want to know why some paintings you see in galleries have a brown cast while others are bright and full of colour.

Working with detail and care Julian labors to repair damage, stabilize, clean and restore this master work to honor the artist's vision.

Using archival and reversible materials and techniques, the work executed will do no harm to the painting and ensure that generations to come will be able to enjoy this work.

While not meant to be instructional and edited for brevity this video allows art lovers and the curious to see how artworks are conserved.