We tend to imagine old paintings as having a mute and yellow brown casting, not without reason. Many examples we have seen in life really look like this way, but generally not because the artist wanted. As Julian Baumgartner of The restoration of the Beaux-Arts de Baumgartner de Chicago explains in The video above,, The colors of these paintings have changed over the decades, or in any case seem to change, due to the resin layer over it. When this type of coating is applied for the first time, it makes the shades below wealthy. Over time, alas, chemical changes and the accumulation of dirt and dirt can cause dull and even sickly appearance.
“Many people say that the varnish should never be deleted,” that it is a patina that is on the surface of the painting and that it adds to the quality of the painting: it makes painting better, which makes it more serious, “explains Baumgartner.
“These are all interesting opinions, but they are all inaccurate. If the artist wanted to apply a patina to their painting, they could apply a patina and reduce the colors. But most of the artists, when they apply a varnish, do not plan that this varnish will never become yellow or brown, or cracks or will become cloudy. ” The idea is to bring back the colors to the way the artist would have seen them when the work has reached his finished state.
This is where the difference between a paint is resided and, for example, a cast iron pan. But at a certain level, the real work of cleaning a work of art – as Baumgartner demonstrates, accelerated, in the video – differs less than that could imagine that of cleaning a kitchen tool. The result, however, can certainly be more striking, in particular with a canvas like this, whose sister twin subjects provide an ideal means of showing the contrast between the long colors covered with varnish and these same newly exhumed colors. Although there are now formulas that do not become yellow in the same way, more than some artists stick to the classic Damar varnish, which has its own advantages – notably a few generations of business conservatives.
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Based in Seoul, Colin MArshall Written and broadcastTS on cities, language and culture. His projects include the substack newsletter Books on cities And the book The stateless city: a walk through Los Angeles from the 21st century. Follow it on the social network formerly known as Twitter in @ColinmArshall.
At Learnopoly, Finn has championed a mission to deliver unbiased, in-depth reviews of online courses that empower learners to make well-informed decisions. With over a decade of experience in financial services, he has honed his expertise in strategic partnerships and business development, cultivating both a sharp analytical perspective and a collaborative spirit. A lifelong learner, Finn’s commitment to creating a trusted guide for online education was ignited by a frustrating encounter with biased course reviews.