Stretching Belief Part 1
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- čas přidán 11. 12. 2021
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One would think that after practicing a craft for long enough that very little would come as a surprise. In the world of art conservation it seems there is never a shortage of things that shock, astound and well, stretch belief.
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Client: I'm kind of sad because I like how it looks rn
Julian: this overpaint is so ugly omg
lol, see my much wordier comment.
this is the comment
this is the comment
I love a guy willing to be totally honest even when it’s a little awkward.
a solution is to commission a copy of the painting before the restoration takes place
Petition to let Julian swear when the previous conservator did an absolute number on the painting, he deserves it
I would like to watch exclipt version of conservation video from Julian, when he roast crappy conservator works. Would love it.
“previous conservator”?! 🤣🤣🤣
When he was at a loss for words at the end over the tile adhesive, the implied "What The Fuck" in his tone made me giggle. I want to hear an unfiltered stream of consciousness dub-over of everything that went thru his head when he found out.
He deserves a swear, as a treat
You didn't catch the "oh shit" he dropped when the client said he liked the way the looks now.... I giggled a little 😂
I felt myself screaming “BITCH THEY DIDNT” at every turn. This was truly a psychological horror film… the trowel marks!!! A TROWEL!!!!!
reading this comment before finishing the video counts as ominous foreshadowing i think
Edit: oh my god a _trowel_
Reading this is a WARNING LABEL. 😳
@@shadeshadow2347 Lol I too visited the comment section and saw this before I got there
The whole thing feels like reading a murder mystery! 😅 A TROWEL for goodness sakes!!!
@@shadeshadow2347 see, I thought it would have been trowel as in one of those lil tools you'd see Bob Ross using to mix up paint or something and it just got really overused....but no. NOPE. actual construction style bought it at the hardware store trowel.
there is something so wonderful about seeing a comment you might see on a clip of a reality tv show on an art conservation video. the energy 🙌
Julian: effortlessly listening to the client's concerns and still giving his professional advice in the most Jedi way while still giving shade to the former conservation job
Me eating a cookie for dinner: that's exactly how I would do it
'These are not the skies you're looking for' (eating peanuts for breakfast, btw)
@@niek024 /high five 😊 you know what's up!
“these are not the colors you are looking for...”
edit: dang, somebody was faster...
I was honest to goodness thinking - in response to the client asking about whether that awful patch was original or not - and this without irony -
Tsk, poor lamb. Is this the original work indeed! Lucky he brought the painting to us, we'll set him right.
Notice the 'us'. Us indeed. Without realising it, Julien has about a million or so apprentices.
Bruh, literally a homemade cookie in my mouth for 'dinner' as I read this comment. Witchcraft!
It's nice to see clients. Also I love how only a few minutes in, Julian is already grilling the previous "conservator".
Some light grilling. I was waiting for him to say the previous ‘conservator’ has the retouching skills of the same level as MS Paints fill tool
I can't be the only person who thinks that the inclusion of the clients is terrible. They don't have the camera presence or radio voice that Julian does, and nothing is presented that couldn't be narrated 10x better by him in 1/10th the time.
Edit: Okay, I'll admit that this guy was _way_ less annoying than the last guy.
@@wbfaulk what are you talking about? You mean beautiful McGregor? From The Italian Job?
@@here2_fangirl I'm with you....I enjoyed McGregor's participation in the film. And I like the inclusion of the clients...when they are involved with the painting's restoration because they love the painting makes it seem more involving to me.
@@here2_fangirl Yeah. He was awful.
Julian: “I think they used tile adhesive”
Me, eating a hot cheetos for breakfast an hour before my final exam: “Unfathomable!”
Edit: i think i may have failed my exam
2nd edit: wow i didnt expect this to blow up but eyyy i passed (barely) with a 78% (C+)
Me: I'm surprised they didn't cover the paint with a nice thick coat of polyurethane, or was it polyethelene. The stuff in the "Scraping, scraping' video.
Good luck on your final!
TILE ADHESIVE? That was not a conservation. That was an assassination.
To be fair everyone thinks they've done worse then they actually have. Keep a chin up until results day
Good luck
Aw man. to see the client being reluctant about the original sky while Julien was excited about it, then revealing the ruined sky....that was heartbreaking
Yeah, that blue sky was kinda beautiful, except for the ripped part
I am perplexed by the contrast between the absolutely horrific quality of the "conservation" and the idea that the culprit knew enough to create a blacklight diversion with the red retouching. Though to be fair, there is a lot perplexing about this painting's apparent history.
It makes me wonder if it was actually two parties. Perhaps the second party, after seeing what the “conservator” had done added the red herring retouching in order to resell the painting.
@@Zusie that is actually really smart and would make a lot of sense. no one trying that hard to make it look like they did a good job would use tile adhesive. and also the "retouching" was clearly their for the black light, which probably wouldn't be used by a client just getting their painting back.
More likely the red just got a drip or bumped with the blue, and was wiped off.
They got enough of the pigment off to not be visible, but the oil itself remained
@@joshua43214 No, Julian was definitely lifting red paint off of those spots. You can see it on the swab.
As soon as i saw the trowel marks, i said "THEY USED GROUT!" Out loud at my computer screen in disbelief.
My spouse shouted "Oh my God, they used MASTIC!" in a tone of utter horror, just as Julian was talking about pulling tiles off the bathroom wall.
I bet that when the painting was originally torn, they brought it to a handyman to fix. The steps he took are the right steps when you're fixing, say, a wall. Cut off any ragged edges, put some support behind the hole, spackle, sand the repair level. Then, clean the existing paint with TSP so the new paint will bond, and paint the wall. Such a person would already have a trowel and experience with tiling adhesive.
Think about it: before the internet, it must have been much more difficult for the average person to locate an expert in repairing paintings, if they even knew they needed a special kind of expert to repair it in the first place.
This all seems entirely logical and likely, until you think about the fake retouching stippling on the red areas. What handyman knows enough or even thinks to distract a conservativer inspecting with blacklight by adding a fake-out like that? That's some shady business there.
@@DavenaOaks i bet it was two people. one person who did an honest but terrible job, another who tried to hide it in order to sell the painting for more by adding false retouching.
@@haleyw5677 ooo, that makes more sense
Way back then, they had something called Yellow Pages.
@@jennycorey8968 the yellow pages would be relatively local. If there wasn't any conservators in the area, they'd be up the creek without a paddle. Now, we can totally send things off to the best conservator Google reviews can buy, but then, 'painter' could mean a good few things, I'd think.
A hearty “Thank you” to the client for letting us see that process.
Also, the client seems like a cool dude. He actually likes the more muted colors, but is curious enough to see whether there is something more interesting underneath. I hope he is not going to be disappointed.
I’m just bad for him. The guy just wanted a more vibrant single-toned paint, but Julian took him for the entire rodeo
Especially considering the original layer they were trying to see was destroyed anyways. Now it's impossible for him to get what he wanted either what he was used to or what the original was. Im sure Julian will do a good job but I'm a bit bummed for the dude.
@@temattcha But Julian was right. All the retouching made it look like a cheap painting you'd find at Disneyland. Why reduce a talented artist's work to that when you can bring it back to the original vision. It's sad to lose the one you're comfortable with, but now you get to meet the true painting.
@@rachel705 Don't worry, the picture can always be painted over again, but it can be done more professionally and after repair
If the repainted painting was a standalone work, I would love love love it. I love the flat colors and ambiguous spooky face of the cowboy..but the fact that it's over paint with tile adhesive is abhorrent 😭 it looks really pretty with the original work revealed, but I'm still into the flat colors
I've posted something similar in a much wordier comment.
At least Julian took high quality before and after pictures, so the simplistic look of the overpaint is preserved in that sense!
Same. I love graphic art and guache
I love that you can feel the pure rage radiating from Julian through the entire video. It's gotta hurt to see a painting so badly treated on so many levels.
The stuttering when he said the type of adhesive. You just know he wanted to use an expletive or two. I did.
I adore seeing such openly curious clients learn and follow along the process the same way us viewers of this channel have for years. It's a breath of fresh air to the channel's usual format and as always, a wonderful video, Mr. Julian!
I totally agree with you 👌
this guy started asking questions that i’ve always wanted answer to… love it
@@ariwizzard right??
"During the process of trying to retouch this, they couldn't..... and out of desperation they just repainted the whole sky."
"They used _tile_ _adhesive_ with a _notched_ _trowel_ to glue this painting down."
People who do things like that to paintings are the sorts who use nails to repair fine furniture, JB-Weld to reassemble engines, superglue on antique watches and duct tape for everything else.
Hey- there’s a time and place for duct tape repair. The trick is knowing when a makeshift repair is all that’s called for versus when an expert is needed. 😉
I like seeing the clients behind the painting… I know we can’t always get the client’s perspective but it’s a nice change up!! Also, Julian ragging on the previous conservation efforts is always *chef’s kiss*
“This isn’t even conservation, this is disappointing…” 😂
Lets hope it wasn't client's father, who did the work :)
Conservation has its own rules and limitations, and this is just overpainting of good half of the canvas. Definitely not a conservation in any terms.
Were there any other videos that included the client? I think I’ve seen all the videos on his page and don’t remember seeing any other clients…
@@BootyCrusader "The Italian Job pt 1" had a lengthy discussion with the owner. How he found it, and they went back and forth about the date of the painting. I think that's the first time Julian had a discussion with the owner on camera, I could be wrong though. I've been watching his stuff for a long time and I don't recall him including the owner, on camera.
the dread when Julian start talking about tile adhesive while scraping the back of a canvas, vs the utter hilarity of him actually losing his words when he gets to that fact at the end that they actually used it on a painting. pure gold
It's gut wrenching to see the state of the painting after you cleaned it. Whoever handled it beforehand practically destroyed it. The artist must have been turning in their grave.
Julien: "This isn't even conservation...this is disappointing"
Golden Quote
Get this on a tshirt immediately!
I agree
It reminded me of Gordon Ramsay so much :)
I love the style of this piece, the slight abstraction is so different from the usual highly realistic paintings you usually work on.
i really love how his new videos always have something new in them
My though exactly! It's one of few paints that I really liked and think "I could buy something like that"
does anyone know who the painter is? cant find anything on google.:(
I thought the painting benefited greatly from those flat colours, at least when looked at through a computer screen. With the original desert and sky, it is just another costumbrist work, even if the composition is somewhat unusual. But that sort of schematism of the repainting made it very modern and rather intriguing in my opinion, almost like proto neofigurativism if you allow me such semantical monstrosity. I know that's not what the artist had in mind but still
@@vemundv i want to know too! Its beautiful!
This is so weird, they over painted the entire background and foreground yet made sure to do a little miss-direction on the red so they knew about UV florescence, yet they also used tile adhesive??? this doesn't seem like just a bad conservator or an overreaching amature, there's something very fishy about the work.
This isn't a painting, it's a crime scene.
But I have faith in Julian's ability to salvage it.
I like how Julian is talking the client around to trying to get an idea of what the ARTIST wanted to show the painting as - rather than relying solely on his personal history of what it is before Julian has had a chance to ply his techniques to bring it back to life. This is the mark of a seasoned professional. Recognising the client is as much a part of the piece as the actual piece itself. Well done!! If clients are willing to participate in this way, I'd LOVE to see more content like this. Thank you so much Julian!!
Absolutely. I admit that I liked the original quite a bit too. It made the foreground figure "pop" even more in a way that was definitely not the original intent but was very striking. I would not have been too surprised if the client had just taken it back.
Good on the client for agreeing to a proper restoration.
@@jadedflames I had been worried that once Julian started removing to show the client he wouldn't have been able to change his mind, but I realized if the client really wanted to keep it as is, Julian definitely would have paint matched the overpaint and put it right back. I'm glad he decided to move forward though! If I were the client I might have had it scanned and had a print made for memories of how it was and then eagerly had it restored to its full glory.
Stretching Belief or “Never let your General Contractor repair your damaged painting”
The stage is set. Mid-day and the contractor and crew arrive to repair and re-tile the kitchen. As a worker is bringing in a ladder, a painting is bumped and it falls to the floor, impaling itself on a ceramic cat the is sitting next to a plastic-covered couch.
“Hey Boss, I knocked a picture down.” The contractor comes out from the kitchen. “What the heck did youze meatheads do?” Don’t worriezaboutit.” A canvas drop cloth, some of dis smelly mastic, some spare wall paint from da last job, and boom! Good as new. Now hang dat picture back up and faggedabouit.”
Sounds strangely possible...
Leave the painting, take the cannoli?
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
I think you solved the puzzle.
Completely agree, that was my first thought as soon as I saw the clean cut edges xD
Julian casually telling us how to rob a bank
Exactly what I thought 😂
I know, we get conservation advice and advice for starting a criminal career. Double goodness
I know everyone loves to watch the cleaning or retouching process but honestly, this is my favorite part of the process. The before part. The assessment, the removal of old work, the addressing structural issues, etc
Mine too. I'm always a little disappointed when we get to the retouching - unless it's a face.
I agree Darthxmami. I especially enjoy the way Julian explains things to us in a way that we will understand, but not talk to us like we have an I.Q. Of 45 or something.
Mine too, I love it.
Same.
Me too!!!
I always try to imagine the previous conservator discovering their work on Julian's channel. Some 98 year old dude surrounded by unfinished work, questioning his entire existence as Julian delivers the most tactful and public beating in all of art restoration history. :-)
How cool would it be to find one of those previous conservators and sit through Julian's process.
Honestly giving the materials used in this, I'm guessing this was a DIY home repair with whatever they had in the cupboard. Like someone had a party they weren't supposed to and didn't want to be caught for damaging the painting
@@NiaJustNia hahaha I too suspected the current owner …
@@jeffkeith637 his "Oh, but I really like the colours", and we're all like this 👀
You can actually hear Julian's surprised Pikachu face when he told us the painting was previously treated like a bathroom tile 😂
This has the appearance of an understudy/apprentice botching the cleaning, and then his boss trying to salvage the job & hide the crimes, to the point where it looked "good enough" to the untrained eye (e.g. the client's uncle) to be sold. Hard to believe the same person who'd know how to disguise that much overpaint wouldn't also know how to avoid the original travesty.
Lovely work by Julian once again! Really looking forward to the rest!
Wow, great theory! That's the one I'd bet on.
Julian: eloquently describes problematic previous attempts at restoration and offers careful, thoughtful solutions to proper repair and insightful restoration.
Me (eating out of a bag of beef jerky): yeah who tf paints over the whole sky
the way he reveals the adhesive… the pure rage radiating from his voice is awesome (original meaning)
Wow, it's unbelievable how poorly the painting was treated. But at the same time the skill in which the overpainting was disguised. Seems like a shady character worked on the painting prior to it coming into the studio. Its going to be interesting to see what it looks like when Julian is finished with it.
It probably had so much grime when the owner got it back seeing the bright blue skies and yellow sands was like ,"wow you did a great job" sneaky guy was like, "heh, heh."😂💰
That's what I was thinking. This wasn't some amateur, they clearly knew about blacklight. This is a shady character passing off crappy work as good work. They had to have some color sense to paint all that stuff and disguise it well enough.
Definitely a con job.
Strap that person in a chair and make them sit through Julian's conservation process in person.
@@jeffkeith637 maybe Julian could practice his scraping technique. The "conservator" might learn something 😄
I love how this man is just asking questions openly and how genuinely curious he is. It's so heartwarming to see people who want to learn about this and also seeing julian teach and educate people in real time is so incredible.
Hopefully he has a high-quality poster of it before the fix so he can display them side-by-side at home. Best of both.
Now you know how I feel ( since I’m a carpenter) when I see painting restoration experts install tile.
It’s the same feeling .
Exactly!
It was so amazing getting to see the owner's connection to the painting, and how much trust is needed to hand over something that they love, especially in a situation like this where they know the painting will look different afterwards.
Kudos to the man being curious enough to see how the painting might really look like. It can be hard to let go a perspective you grew to love. And as always it's wonderful to watch to see the painting come back to it's original life. :)
"agitate, or move around..."
"swab, or cotton ball..."
Julian teaching people whole new words in addition to everything else
edit: recognizing the notched trowel then identifying the odor of the old adhesive was just *chef's kiss*
He even measured in metric units!!
You're fluent in English and didn't know what "Agitate" or "Swab" meant..? 😂🤦
@@skrimper shuuu ! Let people have fun !
@@skrimper if you're learning english as a second language then yes "agitate" and "swab" aren't words that you'd know
I love how each episode Julian gets more and more free about insulting the previous retouching
I feel like we've been waiting forever for Julian to actually show us the reactions of a client, and now he's got one co-starring in a video about a painting owned by them. Not only that, but the client is curious and inquisitive. As a long-time fan, I just think that's neat.
i like how he has a little detective moment figuring out the “conservator” used tile adhesive and a notched trowel
So far, Julian's favorite painting to work on will have to include staples, polyurethane, pva glue, and now tile adhesive.
hearing julian say “they used tile adhesive with a trowel” the rage that filled me follow by utter disbelief was crazy…how!!! but also why??? so many questions we won’t have answers for
Oh man, what a twist of events! Having a tile craftsman repairing a painting - that's a first
I am wondering if it was an 'antique restorer/repairer,' the local semi-retired guy who takes your great-grandfather's writing desk, strips off the old finish, replaces the old leather insert, replaces any broken or missing hardware, and by doing so, shocks half of the people who see it, being amazed by how anyone could 'ruin' such a wonderful old piece, and shocks the other half by how 'lovely' the piece turned out.
@@kathyjohnson2043 That sounds entirely likely!
Perfect thing to enjoy after studying for finals! I don't know if Julian has mentioned it anywhere, but I'm a chemist and would love to know what sorts of solvents are used in cleaning the paintings.
I don't think I've ever heard him mention specific chemicals. I imagine they're trade secrets 🤔
He said somewhere that he can’t name the solvents and such for insurance reasons-he’s not insured for teaching
@@annakennedy9436 Interesting! I'll have to hunt down papers to assuage my curiosity then
I have heard that sometimes, linseed oil, isopropyl alocohol, or (more agressively) benzyl alcohol are used. Yet this is only rumour and I have no clue.
This is only slightly parallel to what you’re saying, but you might find interesting: I worked as a jr art curator for a bit for a large museum and I also sent off paintings to the cleaned and redone. After this was done I was never allowed to see the report (only the sr was) which apparently sometimes also had the chemical solutions written down for later conservators. They said this was so newer people wouldn’t get the chemicals and try to ‘fix paintings’ themselves and ruin them. Same as I was never allowed to touch the faces of a painting. Just a short story to add to your interest.
A Baumgartner video at 12 am on a Monday morning? Yes, please.
Best way to start the day.
Couldn't agree more
This man should get his own documentary series
you're already watching it right here
@@jreilly2213 I was about to say the same thing!
Like _Primitive Technology_ guy did? No thanks
@@miran248 What ever happened to him? Did he go to television? I miss his videos!
@@monkeygraborange Apparently, yes. (and then rona happened)
Would like to know, if there's more to the story.
I've always been curious as to how solvents worked through the overpaint but not the original! I'm so glad he asked so I could finally have an answer :D
personally i liked the way it looked before - the flatness contrasted with the character was nice - but holy shit it looked so much better after
I was watching a document about Mona Lisa a few days ago. They say that it is quite in a need of restoration, but nobody is brawe anough to touch it. Julian, what do you think about little trip to Europe? :D
Nah, the Louvre would just ship it to Chicago by FedEx. (Actually, they aren't going to let it be worked on by anyone because they are quietly worried that theirs is not the original, a reoccurring topic in the news, and doesn't want Julian to unmasked the truth. And, who would make the decision to restore her eyelashes or not!) [Remember, there is always a kernel of truth in sarcasm.]
@@kathyjohnson2043 seriously?! I never heard before that there's a chance it isn't the original piece. How odd.
Is there a documentary about this?
@@kathyjohnson2043 My theory is rather - people will be furious if they would take out all the varnish, and show that Mona is not yellow. We got used to this look, mostly because of all of the merchandise.
@@orzelgryf yeah people are used to seeing it almost as an artifact rather than a piece of art. it wasn't even that famous until it was stolen. people only want to see it because it is the most famous painting, so it kinda ends up being a self perpetuating cycle. the look is so distinctive partially because of all the damage and the botched restoration
@@faraha87 i was watching the channel called Great Art Explained. They didn't say anything about it, and they also debunked this myth that Mona wasn't famous before robbery.
ever since the first Q&A where we asked to see clients, i've been waiting with bated breath. it's so cool to finally see someone willing to step up to the plate
I suppose I should expect it of Julian’s viewers, but thank you for using the correct ‘bated.’ I die a little every time someone talks about their ‘baited breath.’
John - Hey Phil! My painting's torn, you know anyone who can fix it?
Phil - Ol' Timmy the Tiler down the road fancies himself a painter, go give him a visit
John - Thanks Phil, I'll be seein' ya
This comment made me laugher harder than it should have omg hahaha
when i saw the glue layer, and especially when talking about the remains of a pattern like if it was applied with a trowel, my mind went first with contact adhesive, like neoprene, i wasn't expecting tile cement
Given that it was still flexible, I'd guess it was heavy duty contact cement for glueing down industrial carpet or astroturf.
I was recently watching a drama series where an art student was stretching canvas... with staples. And I could hear Julian's voice listing out why tacks are better.
So that happened.
It's 12:30 AM. I should be asleep. Instead, I'm watching Baumgartner. There are priorities.
You can really hear his quiet anger towards the previous “conservator”
for him, that real anger
That must have been a tough decision for the client. It would most certainly have been tough for me. I do actually like the graphic quality of the botched "restoration". I'm looking forward to the way you decide to restore the sky, as it seems like there are areas in which one cannot see how it was painted before the paint removal.
I've made a much wordier post about the graphic effect of the work as it was first seen.
They should have just taken an archival photograph of it and produced a print from it. It won't be "real" but it isn't anyway, and maybe the owner actually does like it better. Have your cake and eat it too?'
At the very least you get a "before and after" shot.
@@paulmoir4452 i know that julian takes lots of photos before he begins. I'm sure one of them would make a great print
I do love that by having the talk with the client he's kind of teaching his client how to love their art more
Julian is a savage, just calling out amateurs a la carte.
He calls it amateurish, not amateur. Amateur just means you don't get paid for it. You can be a professional and still be a hack or you can be an amateur and also be a master. Amateurish mean inexperienced. It's important to understand the difference although they have the same root word.
wife: "honey can you fix this ripped painting"
husband: ~grabbing tin snips, rubber mallet, grout, and paint roller~ "on it babe"
This painting even stretches my disbelief! Unbelievable, and catastrophic.... I really look forward to how the sky will be retouched by the master's hand, I can't fathom how it is to be done at this juncture. All this said, there was something innately beautiful about the featureless, pastel contrast of the sky, ground, and striking red figure, almost surreal...
When you started describing your old house and bathroom tiles I realized what was coming, facepalmed hard, and laughed through the rest of that explaination. O.M.G.
Me: "Wow this was really well secured! No way this was coming off."
Julian: "This was bound to fail from the beginning"
Me: "Oh my god, they really had no clue!! What the heck!"
I love that every single video is different. Different topic, different approach. You talk by yourself about the actuall stuff on the painting, then you focus on the imaginery, other time you go into psychology and fantasy, now we see you actually handling a real human being and reacting to an actual in real time questions. I love this
"this isn't conservation, this is disappointing"
If i tell you almost wheezed- Julian you savage akjsjsjsj
Julian after finding out they used tile adhesive: "the conservator was too stunned to speak"
We have to remember that people who tried to conserve paintings 30 or 40 years ago didn't have the advantage of watching videos of Julian Baumgartner doing it properly. They really bungled this particular job and if they charged money for it, that's a real shame. But if this amateur job was the only thing that would keep this painting from going in the dumpster, I don't think it's fair to take too many dumps on amateur conservators who would've been forced to rely on their local libraries.
Well this is an interesting one, do you think that's the most retouching you've seen on a piece (relative to the factors, size, etc.)? Cool to see another owner/ customer getting involved and appearing for the content, fascinating to hear the history of ownership and their reactions to everything. Looking very forward to seeing the finished recovery/ work.
the client's mounting dread when Julian is pointing out how much is painted over, i'm cryinngggggg this is so funny and so good. also i LOVE being able to see the client interaction like this!
I gasped when I heard Julian say "tile adhesive" really, I gasped. The nut case used a notched trowel to glue a canvas to a painting. Just how many more surprises are we in for with this project? I can't wait for more.
Julien, I love your work so much. My caregiver and I are mesmerized by your Zen attitude LOL This painting makes me wonder: have you ever had another conservator contact you and say, "I was the last person who worked on that painting?" Yikes! A notched trowel and floor tile adhesive!!!! I'm just as speechless as you are.
I loved seeing you directly interact with your client in person about his painting. It was wonderful seeing how he reacted to what you were explained. His trepidation at first and then his curiosity and excitement at what the painting might/will actually look like after conservation. His total interest in your every word, the positivity in your candor. When you said they used tile adhesive to glue the canvas my jaw hit the floor. My exact words were "what idiots" and my husband who was falling asleep while listening was like "dumba- - es" and all I could do is reply "you've got that right! I can't wait to see your completed conservation and hopefully your clients reaction. Thank you for another wonderfully done vlog and lessons about what you should never do to a painting.
This video was well worth the wait. First of all, it was so cool to see your conversations with the client. He asked questions I didn't even realize I didn't know. And the "twist" at the end... you did great at building the suspense up to it. I'm completely boggled at the previous "conservator," who at this point seems to have been smart enough to cover his tracks at the surface level but just again and again made so many awful decisions. Was it intentional? Malicious? Just plain stupid? Either way I'm hooked for the follow up.
Intentionally shady character is my guess
Thank you to your client for allowing us to share the process of learning about his work of art. I very much appreciate the generosity to allow us all to nosy.
On a more professional note, I'm pulling my hair out in the first seconds of the removal of overpaint; I don't remember seeing this level of overpaint in any of Julien's previous videos? Why, oh why? What were they doing! If you want to colour in - go buy a colouring in book - don't do it on a real life piece of art! (Oh, I went further into the video and I see - they mucked up and were trying to hide their blunder)
Holy hell in a hand-basket - they cut bits of the canvas off? I'm swooning! The ineptitude - the stupidity! It's unforgiveable!
Tile adhesive!!! With a trowel!!! Oh dear God, I have no words.
Well I'm not that surprised by the tile adhesive (because in the videos we've seen terrible adhesives multiple times) but when he showed that purposeful cutting of the original canvas fibers! How do you look at a tear and go "yeah I'm gonna make it bigger"?
Seem like that is what a part-time carpenter might do before trying to glue something back together.
Also what some "oldtimey" doctors did when they had to stitch up a particularly ragged gash (like our positively ancient MD did when he had to treat my brother for yet another fall with a gnarly nasty laceration right in the middle of his cheekbone when we were kids).
I'm in the middle of writing my final papers for my degree. I'm really stressed and having trouble sleeping, but having this video come up made me feel so much calmer. Thank you 💞
Good luck 😊
I love how he answered the question the owner of the painting had, and even explained how it was done by an amateur, and all the parts that were either repainted, or just have really bad varnish. It was so cool to watch.!Also I just gotta say, I absolutely DESPISEEE the person that just painted over the WHOLE sky.. it's like, "WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!". And it absolutely hurts me that when the person who painted over was done, they were fine with keeping the paint covering the whole sky.. I just absolutely hope that person regrets what they did. 😮💨OH NO. THE DESERT TOO?? JESUS CHRIST.
Alright, I have an exam in the morning, I should get to slee-
*julian uploads*
Yeah, I’ve got time.
Lol same good luck!!
I learn something new with every one of Julian's videos, and this time I learned the most effective way to rob a bank
I love that we’re getting the owners!! Thank you! You’re wonderful, but it’s nice to get a change in dynamic. :D
This intro with Julian talking to the client is so sweet and interesting! It would be very easy for Julian to come out of the gate running, telling everything that's wrong and over correcting the client at every turn. But instead he takes his time, and lets the client explore the piece with him and express his questions/theories in such a positive environment! It reminds me of those really good professors that gently correct you or guide you in the right direction without making you feel stupid.
4:36 That "Oh.. Oh no..." perfectly reflected all our (the viewers') "Oh yes!" as we realized how interesting this video was going to be - and also made me almost die of laughter!
I love seeing the clients and the paintings together; it's really interesting to connect the two and hear the client's opinions on the painting and the history of the painting.
When I first saw the painting, it looked almost like a mixed media work reminding me of Decoupage or screen printing: a flat, color-blocked background with a figure and minimal landscape applied over the background. Of course that wasn't the materials used, but the effect gave the painting a very graphic, unusual quality. I think I can understand the client's concern; the visual effect of this painting is going to be extremely altered, and although your work will return the painting as close as possible to the artist's intent, it will (as you said) not be the painting the client experienced until now. I am curious to see if, after your efforts, the figure remains somehow removed from the landscape, or if it becomes more integrated, more a part of its environment. Interestingly, I am now intrigued by the thought that an artist might intentionally create a work that exploits this visual effect: contrasting a flat, color-blocked background with a fully nuanced figure superimposed onto it and creating a hyper- emphasized central vertical figure with a strong horizontal line formed by the distant mountains. I haven't had an art history course since many years ago in college, and I wonder if anyone knows of an artist or a specific work that applies such an effect since I would love to see it as an intended outcome.
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
The fact of the visible communication with the client offers a different interesting dynamic, and it's nice to share questions that probably a lot of us have, and didn't get answers, till now. So in my point of view, it is very positive to share possibilities, doubts, and solutions, with the client, the audience, and all in general.
"The easiest way to rob a bank..." - I was 100% expecting that sentence to be followed by "ask me how I know".
"they retouched the red so that when you look at the painting under blacklight it would distract from the sky" bestie they didn't even care how the painting looks under regular light
24:40 _The conservator was too stunned to speak_
I kinda wish I had a painting that needs restoration just to see and hear Julian Baumgartner working on it! You are super skilled, love the educated informative way you explain what you are doing and why, it is both unique and so illuminating - Thank you !
It’s actually a beautiful painting. Colors are lovely.
Painful……How can you make us wait!
I love this episode with a brave client! You made a great point, that the details at the mountains are gorgeous, and the rest of the painting should have it too!
That is a nice image, I can see why the owner liked it, thanks for sharing and thanks to the client for being willing to take a chance and share with us. Charles
I LOVE that we’re seeing/hearing more from the clients!! Not to pressure any given side to participate, but it’s WONDERFUL to see and hear from those who are enthusiastic/hold these works dear, and want to see these works restored to their former glory, as well as hearing the history as far as they know.
I love seeing the clients getting involved in the video, it adds a much more personal feeling to the painting Julian is conserving
im so curious about the sculptures in julian's storeroom... would love to see him do more of those on the channel
Seeing you speak with the owner of the painting was a great addition to these kinds of videos. Keep it going if possible.
I enjoyed the conversation between Julian and the client. I like seeing the interaction and seeing Julian talk about the painting and showing everything to the client.
It is always so interesting to hear Julian explaining how materials do work, for example, the explanation about gel solvents, function, and propose. Very special work, congratulations.
So happy to see a new video. Thank you for taking me out of my world into yours. You were in my thoughts a week ago. I was painting an interior door, but I first had to remove the paint I had put on 30 years ago. I knew nothing about painting back then, I did not prep the surface, just painted over the old high gloss paint. Some of the semi-gloss just peeled off, literally in sheets, but some of the paint had to be scraped. With a little moisture and patience it came up. While scraping I could hear your voice in my head, it was calming, slowing me down. It was just a door but I was proud of my work, doing it properly. I have many more doors to do, I will get to those in time.