Art Restoration

The thing with chemistry is that it does make sense. It is - at least eventually - understandable, once one gets over chemistry fear. You just need a patient tutor, or ...

a simple beginning course. Or not even that, just a clear explanation of paint chemistry by a patient person or read by yourself, with help or not, in some references.

You don't need to understand all of chemistry... but to look at what is happening with paint in the atmosphere over time.

Looking back at chemistry and math and physics and myself and my friends... some who backed off of the subject just got shut down with new info not discerned fast enough for class speed.

Subject fright is really in the way for whole swaths of people, and chemistry is one of those that seem incomprehensible -
but are not so bad if one just reads for interest, instead of a passing a test, getting a grade.

You might find sites that explain some of paint chemistry online. (I don't know, I haven't looked.)

Re: Art Restoration


There are graduate schools (There's one in New York, I forget the name) where you can get your master's degree in art restoration. (If you're really interested in it as a career path.) They usually require you to know German or French before going. They train you in the chemistry/ technical aspects of resoration.

When restoring a painting you need to consider two things: 1. making the painting look as it was envisioned (not how you think it should look, but exactly how it was) and 2. Preservation (preserving what is there, and making sure your work lasts and makes the piece more lasting/durable.)

Chemistry is important there because you are often working with old and/or foreign materials from a variety of environments. You need to know how your ingredients interact to form the best possible outcome.

People reccomend you know English, German, and French so that you can read all the text surrounding the document/period. A lot of stuff hasn't been translated yet.

One of my travel memories was in going into a church in Arezzo, Annunziata, I think, just after seeing San Domenico, and... a restoration going on in the nave

Cool and dark in the church, hot lights right there... I wanted to be one of them.

Thanks everyone! I appreciate all your info, I think I will have to do alot more research into it and what the courses in England require for it. I have repaired a few family paintings in the past to the best of my ablity but nothing like how it should be done. However it did give me an immense feeling of satisfaction as shepaints wrote, to see them looking for the hole and not finding it! I have a good knowledge of french and am currently looking for a course to take my language skills to the next level, but everytime I look on the net for the specialised course of Restoration I come to a wall, guess Im not looking in the right place!
Thanks again guys

Queen's University in Ontario has a degree program
in Art Restoration/Conservation.

Good on you to be focused on a career path at such
an early age! Wishing you the best for achieving your goals!

Good morning.

i am french, and I would like to study in London. At first, I wanted to study art history in a University (i would like to be an art restorator), but as the english government have decided recently to increase considerably the fees for uni, I was wondering if they were any other way to be an art restorator, any school where i could study in?

thanks

If you notice, the last entry for this thread was about 6 years ago. SHepaints isnt even around anymore. However, in her honor, Id like to post a painting of an artist she introduced me to. His name is David Prentice and hes from Ireland (I believe), He has an eye to paint the scenes of the countrysisde where there is a cold wind blowing the sunbeams up a valley. Really good stuff. Heres one thats a little different