The cleaning of paintings is a very delicate and time consuming task.

Broadly one can differentiate between:

surface cleaning
varnish removal
removal of over-paint.

Depending on the nature of the substance that covers the original paint structure a variety of solvents, soaps, enzymes and mechanical techniques are at the restorer’s disposal to remove these discoloring layers.

The complexities of the cleaning process should not be underestimated. Paintings, just like their creators, are complex and highly individual by nature.

Here some examples of paintings in their various stages of the cleaning process.

Each and every work requires, deserves and needs specific attention and treatment.