Art restorer

An Art Restorer is a skilled professional who preserves, repairs, and restores artworks, ensuring their longevity and historical integrity. Using a blend of scientific knowledge, fine artistic skill, and historical understanding, art restorers work on paintings, sculptures, textiles, manuscripts, and other cultural artifacts. Their goal is to reverse the effects of time, damage, or previous restorations while maintaining the original intent and appearance of the artwork. Art Restorers are crucial in museums, galleries, heritage institutions, and private collections, helping to safeguard cultural heritage for future generations.

Art restorers typically do the following:

• Examine and assess artworks to determine their condition, history, and the best conservation or restoration approach.
• Conduct scientific analysis using tools like UV light, X-rays, and chemical testing to understand materials, pigments, and previous restoration efforts.
• Clean artworks carefully to remove dirt, varnish, or pollutants while preserving original paint or materials.
• Repair damage such as cracks, tears, discoloration, flaking, or missing elements using appropriate restoration techniques.
• Match colors, textures, and materials to seamlessly integrate restored areas with the original artwork.
• Document all procedures, materials used, and changes made during restoration for conservation records.
• Research the historical context, artist’s technique, and original materials to guide accurate restoration.
• Collaborate with curators, conservators, historians, and scientists on large-scale restoration projects.
• Stay up-to-date with new materials, ethical standards, and technological advancements in art conservation.

The following job titles also refer to art restorer:

artifact conservator
restoration technician
restorers
restoration artist
restorer
art objects repairer
preserver

Art Restorers typically work in museums, conservation laboratories, galleries, or private studios. The work requires precision and patience, often involving hours of careful, detailed work under magnification or in climate-controlled environments. Depending on the project, restorers may work independently or as part of a multidisciplinary team. Safety precautions are necessary when handling chemicals or fragile materials. Work hours are generally regular, but major projects or urgent conservation needs may require flexible scheduling.

Art Restorers usually hold a degree in art conservation, fine arts, art history, or chemistry, with many professionals pursuing specialized postgraduate programs in conservation and restoration. These programs offer training in materials science, conservation ethics, and hands-on restoration techniques. Experience through internships, apprenticeships, or museum-based training is essential. Art restorers must have a keen eye for detail, strong artistic skills, knowledge of historical art practices, and a deep respect for cultural heritage. Continuous professional development is important to stay aligned with evolving techniques, technologies, and international conservation standards.

ISCO skill level is defined as a function of the complexity and range of tasks and duties to be performed in an occupation. It is measured on a scale from 1 to 4, with 1 the lowest level and 4 the highest, by considering:

• the nature of the work performed in an occupation in relation to the characteristic tasks and duties
• the level of formal education required for competent performance of the tasks and duties involved and
• the amount of informal on-the-job training and/or previous experience in a related occupation required for competent performance of these tasks and duties.

Art restorer is a Skill level 4 occupation.

These occupations, although different, require a lot of knowledge and skills similar to art restorer.

conservator
exhibition curator
collection manager
museum scientist
exhibition registrar

This knowledge should be acquired through learning to fulfill the role of art restorer.

• Museum databases: The tools and processes involved in working with museum databases.

These skills are necessary for the role of art restorer.

• Create solutions to problems: Solve problems which arise in planning, prioritising, organising, directing/facilitating action and evaluating performance. Use systematic processes of collecting, analysing, and synthesising information to evaluate current practice and generate new understandings about practice.
• Ensure safety of exhibition: Ensure safety of exhibition environment and of artefacts by applying safety devices.
• Assess conservation needs: Assess and list the needs for conservation/restoration, in relation to current use and planned future use.
• Apply restoration techniques: Select and apply appropriate restoration techniques in order to achieve the required restoration goals. This encompasses preventive measures, remedial measures, restoration processes and management processes.
• Evaluate restoration procedures: Evaluate the outcome of conservation and restoration procedures. Evaluate the degree of risk, success of treatment or activity and communicate the results.
• Provide conservation advice: Formulating guidelines for object care, preservation and maintenance, and providing professional advice on possible restoration work to be done.
• Restore art using scientific methods: Follow closely works of art and artifacts by using scientific tools such as x-rays and visual tools, to define the causes of deterioration. Analyse the possibility to restore these objects in a way that can take their original form or condition.
• Use ict recources to solve work related tasks: Ability to choose and use ICT recources in order to solve related tasks
• Coordinate operational activities: Synchronise activities and responsibilities of the operational staff to ensure that the resources of an organisation are used most efficiently in pursuit of the specified objectives.
• Select restoration activities: Determine restoration needs and requirements and plan the activities. Consider the desired results, the level of intervention required, evaluation of alternatives, constraints on actions, stakeholder demands, possible risks and future options.

This knowledge is sometimes, but not always, required for the role of art restorer. However, mastering this knowledge allows you to have more opportunities for career development.

• Art collections: The variety of paintings, sculptures, prints, drawings and other works that form collections in a museum and prospective new collections which are of interest for a museum or art gallery.
• Art history: The history of art and artists, the artistic trends throughout centuries and their contemporary evolutions.

These skills and competences are sometimes, but not always, required for the role of art restorer. However, mastering these skills and competences allows you to have more opportunities for career development.

• Specialise in conservation-restoration of specific types of objects: Specialise in the conservation of particular types of objects: paintings, sculptures, rare books, photographs, furniture, textiles, etc.
• Work in restoration team: Work along side fellow restorers to reverse the detoration of a piece of art and to bring it back to its original state.
• Respect cultural differences in the field of exhibition: Respect cultural differences when creating artistic concepts and exhibitions. Collaborate with international artists, curators, museums and sponsors.
• Interact with an audience: Convey the artistic values of the art form(s). Respond to the reactions of your audience and involve them.
• Perform project management: Manage and plan various resources, such as human resources, budget, deadline, results, and quality necessary for a specific project, and monitor the project’s progress in order to achieve a specific goal within a set time and budget.
• Present reports: Display results, statistics and conclusions to an audience in a transparent and straightforward way.
• Evaluate art quality: Correctly evaluate the quality of art objects, artefacts, photographs and documents.
• Communicate in english in a competent way: Competent use of English; R351refers to level C1 in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).

2651 – Visual artists

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 References

1. Art restorer – ESCO
2. Featured image: Photo by Denis Zagorodniuc