Sometimes really good things happen when I step outside the confines of Portrait Towers, and that includes a thrilling recent visit to meet Simon Gillespie (aka the king of conservators) at his studio. It was totally fascinating to see Simon and his team of conservators and specialists using a combination of modern methods and traditional techniques, to give artworks back their original splendour and integrity.
In addition to breathing new life into both historic and contemporary artworks Simon is also an expert in picture authentication. So read on to learn more, not only about solvents and sleepers, but also thrilling recent discoveries that include previously unknown works by TitIan, Rembrandt, Rubens.. and a certain lady by the name of Artemisia Gentileschi!
Simon Gillespie meets Nick Cox of Period Portraits.
How did you get started in the restoration business and what inspired you?
I was trained as a cabinet maker and restoring antiques in Mexico, when someone arrived with a painting. I had no experience in this area so the work was taken to a local restorer. I was shocked that he seemed to be treating it with such distain, and that’s when the lightbulb came on! Might I be able to take an object that was over five hundred years old into my care? Be able to touch it and put my fingerprints where the artist had put theirs, and also bring it back to life? Could I even run a business that was entered on having such wonderful things around me? So I returned to London and undertook a three year apprenticeship, learning chemistry precisely for restoration and I continue to learn more about this aspect of conservation to this day.
Is that due to the changes and developments in technology?
Yes, those changes are continuous. We are constantly developing the safest way of cleaning paintings. The current method is to adjust water with pH and soap to tailor make things that are completely safe - as safe as we can get. Of course something will no doubt come along in the future, and change this all again.
Solvents in the studio.
So how do you approach the restoration process?
Initially I may look at photographs to quickly assess a painting before it arrives. Once I know what the clients expectations are we can decide how to progress things. As soon as a picture arrives it is tested and then goes through our process. I suppose that we are quite similar to doctors in a way, but instead of saying we must do this, we are often able to say …. ‘Ok, lets stop there’.
Usually minimal intervention is my motto. We all fall apart and get a few cracks, and I try to impart that understanding of patina in a picture to the person who is collecting also. A work should really look like it belongs to the period that it comes from. It is amazing if we see a painting that is in great condition, that has virtually never been touched. I have only seen three or four in my career, where paintings are four hundred years old and look unbelievable.
Magnification of a work on panel.
What is your most memorable project to date?
One of them is our most recent project, the discovery of Artemisia Gentileschi’s painting David and Goliath. It involved working closely with a private collector, with an excellent eye, in an area where exciting academic research is being undertaken. As a result connoisseurship surrounding this artist is also changing (as the letters are being read even Gentileschi’s studio accompanists are all being elevated) it’s a fascinating whirlwind to be apart of! Learning about history is what I love about this business and that comes with every single painting that comes through the door, I find out about the sitter and the artist and their techniques, where they studied and lived.
David With The Head Of Goliath by Artemisia Gentileschi.
So the world around each painting comes alive?
Of course, and the world of the people that comes in with these paintings too. Some people are totally interested in the sitters, some fascinated with the artists, others might not care and decide to leave the portrait in a storage instead.
Do you face any professional challenges?
There is a constant challenge of keeping up to date with the newest methods of taking a picture apart and putting it back together.
Sympathetic retouch in progress.
Do modern works pose any particular challenges, if so how do they differ from Old Masters?
Old masters are tried and tested. Most of the artists have been through apprenticeships, knows how to paint and have likely been regulated by the guild of St Luke. As a result I can quite easily see what may be wrong with a painting and remedy it. In modern paintings we also know what is going on, how to treat them - or not to treat them.
Dealing with 'sticky paintings' can be tricky. By that I mean the type of contemporary art which comes in all manner of materials. Plastics, fish scales, plexiglass, rubber - we have even had chocolate..that was quite a difficult one to work on after lunch.
In those situations I approach the artist to request if I can work on it first, then approach the manufacturer of the material and we make a model. Using the model we can figure out the best way to restore the work which is interesting. It keeps me on my toes.
I find that with contemporary works, collectors are often pedantic about their condition. Take Warhol's for example, they must be over half a century old. Gone are the days where their condition is 100% but that is what is often expected.
Appraising contemporary works in the studio.
Do you think there has been a resurgence in Old Masters paintings portraits amongst younger people?
What I can say is that somebody who can make a likeness of a person has to be appreciated. We get some of the most spectacular paintings on the market and inevitably people with great taste are drawn to them. Those pivotal characters like Rubens, Van Dyke, and Lawrence …people like that changed the way we see portraits. Amazing.
Nick Cox / Period Portraits March 2020
Simon Gillespie Studio, 10 New Bond Street, Mayfair, W1S 1SU www.simongillespie.com