When Art Restoration Goes South

Sources:

[rawjawbone]

You know I was thinking, "Why couldn't they call a restorer?"
Priest is accused of embezzling over $200, 000.
Oh

[Tarodenaro]

Bob Ross was right about the 'happy little accidents' things.

[hey_this_is_a_handle]

Imagine restoring a statue then making it look like a lazy town puppet.

[dartxsi]

I think the real victim here is Elias Martinez. Imagine being this classically trained artist who remains on obscurity for 80 years until someone defaces one of your paintings, and the defaced version is the one everybody remembers.

[Road_Rash]

That wood carving needed no painting, it was absolutely stunning as a plain carving...

[Kwiwiwiwi]

Honestly it sounds like the restoration had more historical significance than the original painting

[dash]

So the moral of the story is that Spanish priests are far too trusting of their parishioners and should always consult a professional when it comes to art restoration.

[crispe]

I like how they hired an arts and crafts teacher to remodel the structure.

[Zinervawyrm]

The wooden statue of baby Jesus, Mary, and Joseph that "needed painting" now looks like it's made from cheap plastic.

[omgnobrain]

"I've watched over 30 hours of Baumgartner"
Haven't we all.

[neelesh-]

before restoration: SPAIN
After restoration: PAINS

[gothkub]

This is far more thorough and empathetic than I originally thought it would be, so I highly commend you. I've done light conservation work in the past...mostly varnish removal as well as surface dirt/tobacco staining, re-lining of disintegrating canvas, and VERY light retouching of lost color. None of it has been on anything remotely expensive or significant, but let me tell ya: it's still *daunting* work. One wrong move or miscalculation of how far you can edit/manipulate a piece of art and it could be damaged irreparably. Think of a surgeon working on an incredibly fragile patient. But the surgery doesn't last just a few hours; it goes on for days, weeks, months. When she got permission to fix the painting (which I believe fully she did, because if not and she did the work in the church -- even for a day -- someone would have seen it and stopped her. If she took it home to do the work, someone would have noticed it missing), the person giving the permission was probably just as unschooled on how much training and experience a good restorer must have. Essentially an art restorer must be both an artist AND a scientist... and they're quite expensive. Many institutions wouldn't be willing to pay what a fine art restorer would charge because on the surface to a lay-person, "they're just filling in the blanks." So they would jump at the chance for an artist/parishioner to do it out of love, if the parishioner honestly felt she could pull it off. If an institution allows a person to "restore" a piece for free or paltry amount (and they don't check references and examples of past work), they are essentially saying that the art is worth nothing to them and therefore they are the ones to blame if it goes wrong, not the artist. Ok, the artist is a bit to blame, too. ; - )

[jessiepandora]

I genuinely love how this video is intelligent enough to be educational but memey enough to also be a shitpost. *Perfectly balanced as all things should be*

[Joseph_yy]

The definition of “mission failed successfully”

[shin]

The fact she was able to take care of her son with cerebral palsy due to the restoration was wholesome

[jomy-games]

Why are all these just priest being like: hey, can you paint?
Yeah.
Ok, can you restore this painting?

[aufowithwificoverage]

Sad that a priest getting arrested doesn’t surprised me.

[lilith]

"I watched a lot of Baungartner Restoration videos"

I see you are a man of restoration as well

[DoctorPhilGud]

This was surprisingly wholesome. I'm glad there was a positive impact on the local economy.

[owasumi]

"Hey dude, can I copy your homework?"
"sure just make it look different"