From a pudding to a personality! Good work. The haircut seems to be a Brutus, popularised by Beau Brummel so he was a bit of a dandy. Might help narrow the date down a bit too.

Wow, now that is a face I would put on a wall. He is such an individual after all your work today! Thank you!

No wonder the family was so upset when they got the painting back. It's lovely to see the original emerge, and what an original!

hahaha I couldn't help but laugh when you showed the comparison so far he's gone from Porky Maxwell to proper Maxwell!

Wow, what a difference already. Mr. Bloomfield, please continue to show us your work, I know it takes time and effort and may be annoying, but you bring joy to many people. I admire you from the beggining, I like your your thoroughness and care not to damage the original paint. You are also a modest, natural and approachable person, you do not pretend to be Mr. Perfect.

Omg side by side you realize how cartoonish the overpainted one looks. Especially the nose (oink) and mouth! I can’t wait to get to the next part!

Wow, he’s gone from Mr Bumble to Mr Darcy! He’s starting to look rather hunky. Well done so far, I’m looking forward to further instalments. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

Utterly transformed yet again. Honestly before you began I thought he was from the subcontinent, given the skin tone and the chubby face. Now, as you rightly said, he's looking chiseled and masculine instead of a character. Fantastic videos. Keep up with the great work

One of the best restoration transformations I've seen. How horrified they must've been when it was originally returned to them

It looks like two different people after the removal of the overpaint! Wonderful to see the true face come forth.

A very satisfying watch! The family must have been devastated when they saw the “restoration”. His forehead was very Trumpian orange. (It’s always sunny in Manchester except when it’s not!)

He reminds me of someone I used to know in the army. That is one really dirty painting - well done you for slogging through.

So handsome! Yes , I thought about the owner’s reaction, too. Yikes

Fascinating...

There is nothing better than watching this on a big screen tv. The transformation is amazing - there is life in those eyes!

Wow he looks like a real person now, not a cartoon, I was so drawn in by his eyes, great work thankyou for sharing😊

His eyes are so mesmerising now! Can't wait to see the portrait fully restored to its original glory.

Just WOW!!! 😍 Can’t wait to see the rest!! 🤗💖🤗

Wow. A completely different animal. Awesome to watch ❤

The difference before and now is amazing.His features are stronger and he’s a strong character,with a lot of character.But you can see by his eyes he also has compassion.Before they looked heavy and lifeless.The person who restored /butchered this painting should never even be allowed near paintings.To think they trusted this to him and got it back as someone else is upsetting.I won’t even attempt a portrait because,try as I might in my eyes they never look like who they are.So I do anything but.And envy those who can do beautiful work.I cannot wait to see this painting finishes I am sure the family will be really pleased with what you do ?Keep up the great work 🥰

Wow! what a difference.

Wow! The before-and-after comparison at the end really drives home just how much the painting was altered back in 1896, and how much better the original is! Had I been that "retoucher", I suspect I would not want my name plastered on the back for the world to see. Then again, he might have genuinely believed his work was top-notch. For purely historical purposes I'm glad the name is there.

He looks so handsome now!

You’ve uncovered a human from under a comic. He looks like a compelling fellow.

great video! Here is a like and a comment to increase "engagement" and push your videos up the recommendation ladder.

Archeological - you're not kidding, I could almost imagine you scraping the top layer of with a JCB like 'TimeTeam' breaking the turf layer! You would like to have heard the conversation when the 'previous guy' took it back? Just go to the north pole and stand perfectly still and listen. Out of his depth doesn't even begin to explain that. It looks like he took a photograph and reduced it to the local colours of an early underpainting stage - then realised he had no way of returning it to a finished, high detail portrait.

Let's get a collection going so we can send him to Spain to have a go at that Jesus picture in the church... Fantastic work so far!

The curls framing his strong face, with the inward, slightly appraising look, and yet there is also a wounded depth to that look, you are absolutely right, I had to think of Heathcliff too, what a wonderful painting!

A completely different face emerges. Much improved.

I love your comments. Pig nose (in the last video), and the part about the conversation when he proudly delivered the "restored" painting. 😁 Maybe the family put the label on to shame him forever? If so, it worked. The video has 7,8 thousand views after three weeks. And I doubt any is impressed by what he accomplished... 😉

"Just touch it up a bit" she said, the poor woman. Its coming along nicely. Hes got plenty of character.

So enjoy watching this. Very informative

Incredible job! I cannot imagine the reaction that poor family had after getting that awful overpainting back. What a disaster😬 so glad you were able to uncover the original and in such good condition! I’m a new subscriber and happy to be here. I’m a scientist turned artist, so I really enjoy art conservation and learning from people like you. Thanks for taking the time to share your skill and knowledge with the world! P.s. just a little tip from an avid and longtime KZfaq viewer-try to keep your music choices limited to one or maybe two different songs per video, and the more calm and relaxing it is, the better. A good majority of viewers tend to prefer this; if you don’t believe me, just check out the comment section of literally any video where a creator uses music that is too loud, too distracting, or makes it difficult to hear the speaker lol. I’ve seen a good number of channels learn this as they grow and refine their process! Yours is miles better than most I’ve seen, so please don’t take this as a criticism! I’d love to see your viewership grow so I thought I’d mention it! Best of luck from North Carolina!

Stunning difference.

WOW!!!!!!!

It’s like two different fellows! What an amazing improvement!

It is nice when you do post and share with us

From a cartoon to a living person! So greatly improved!

I love the through explanation and close ups of how you are judging where to stop the cleaning at. The sky and clouds in these portraits always startle me a bit but it shouldn’t. The Regency loved their bright & natural colors. It didn’t go with the decor of Victorians who went dark partly as a way to cover up what all that coal smoke was doing to their interiors. I’m sure if the coal smoke hadn’t covered the sky the amateur artist would have covered on purpose to better blend it’s the parlor wall.

He looks 10 years younger. Can't wait for the next part

OMG, he's starting to look very handsome and confident! I wonder what "damage" necessitated the original "restoration". The overpaint looks as if it had been done by an itinerant barn painter.

I am speechless re the overpaint! His face is so different! I love the theory of the label on the back being written by a family member.

Brilliant job in removal of a heavy-duty scenic like make up! Lips, eyes and eye brows are much improved, even with the paint loss. I think he was a strong and dominating type of guy. Rather no nonsense. I hope he can see you from above and thank you for your careful job. You broke a piggy-bank and got the gold inside :D

We have a painting done by my grandfather, who was a heavy smoker, and I'm dying to get it cleaned and repaired. I cannot imagine that it doesn't have a layer of nicotine over it that would be very satisfying to see cleaned off. (It's not valuable or historically significant, it would just be nice to see it fixed.)

18:55 Oh wow 😮 Massive difference!

What a distinguished gentleman!!! Can’t wait to see him restored! ♥️♥️♥️

The painting you started with was Charles Laughton! 😂

It looks like a completely different person. And its amazing how much the background makes his image stand out now its getting cleaner. Brilliant job.

00 omg that was fascination cant wait to see more

It looks like a Gainsborough era painting from the cloudy background. It’s possible that either as the taste changed or because he died they may have had the background painted black. I think the restorer overcleaned the painting and then panicked.

As always the cleaning of tbe painting is such an amazing step on the revelation of an old painting. Congratulations for the result.

New subscriber here. You uncovered a handsome gentleman there ❤ amazing

Turning into a pretty skillful portrait. The overpainting was really hiding some lovely passages

Wow. I still can’t believe the poor person had ruined him so. He has a nice toned shaped face and his eyes are a beautiful brown now. They speak ❤

even with the paint loss the picture is looking so much better with the cleaning. The face is actually looking like a person, and not a facsimile.

Amazing transformation 😊

It's incredible the amount of dirt there was in the background, almost hard to believe there was once a nice blue color behind it. And the face just left me speechless. He went from being a random soft boi to an attractive man with strong personality. That was an incredible transformation. Thanks so much for your video, you just made me subscribe!

The original is wonderful. My theory, as a photographer, is that the sitter or his family was not happy with the way his mouth area looked, perhaps a bit scruffy, and asked someone to retouch it to look more clean shaven. And then the retoucher was out of his depth.

Awesome! I was amazed how much depth and carisma that came back to light when You cleaned up.

I wonder if you have considered finding some young/old person who would be interested in doing some of the filming/editing/uploading to free you for the work you really love? The additional output a helper could provide might pay for itself.

Ce monsieur sur la peinture vous remercie déjà. Merci pour le partage 😊🇧🇪

I’m amazed at the amount of dirt in this painting! Can’t wait to see more progress!

I was honestly surprised at 3:20 when his hair separated from the background, that is one dirty painting.

This one's right up there. Brilliant work, transformation and big news on more patreons and patreon content! Keep pushing Jim!

I'm thoroughly enjoying the restoration of this painting!! Thank you so much!!

When you see the beauty of the original work, you wonder what prompted the family to ask someone to fix it all those years ago. This is just stunning! I hope you can find a signature under all that mess.

Great job bringing him forward

I always enjoy your videos and your technique explanations.

This has been so fascinating. I'm having almost as much fun as you are.

Greetings from Texas! Love your restorations… this one is definitely a doozy! His face looks so much better!😮

"Mr. Darcy!" 😂

His cravat looks like the "Byron" style, which may date the portrait to after 1812, when the poet's fame took off. The hairstyle began its popularity earlier, when a high tax on hair powder made going unpowdered an easy political protest. When you get the coat cleaned there may be clues in it and the shape of the lapels and waistcoat.

Wow that's an incredible change! Can't wait to see more ❤

He went from a caricature to a real person. Nice!

There's a completely different person coming through. No wonder the family would'nt hang it on the wall, it was'nt their relative anymore😄. Brilliant work, Mr. Bloomfield Art Restoration, my oh my what a cleaning job and you still have quite a lot left. My hat off to you for solide and respectful work and brilliant narrative all the way through the video. Really looking forward to the next one, so thank you so much for sharing this with us restorer fans:) Greetings from Mettrixx in Norway:)

What a transformation! It's wonderful to watch you work .

He's looking like he's lost a few pounds! Sterling work 👍👍

Quite dashing compared to when he came in. You're definitely giving him his swagger back.

There must've been many tears shed when they got the painting back with the over paint, and he looked like a beady eyed blancmange rather than the father/grandfather was remembered

Wow. Completely looking gent now and you are not even close to done. Looking forward to part 3.

Wow that is so dirty and over painted! He looks like a different person as you clean him. Beautiful work!

you made him look years younger and more masculine

Comme c'est intéressant de constater ce beau travail et son résultat ! Merci de le partager. Canada, Québec.

Lovely to see him without the Dulux makeover.

Oh wow ..I can imagine what the family must have thought when the saw the immature face

Much better now.

Looks like a self portrait to me.

What a change! The last person to 'restore' this was clearly an amateur. I wonder if it might have been a relative or friend of the family who fancied himself a painter, came upon an old, damaged portrait in a storage area, and decided to have a go at it. I can't imaging anyone actually commissioning or hiring such an unskilled person to repaint a portrait. Either way, it must have been a major disappointment to see the results. Thanks for rescuing this guy!

WOW! I had a graphics business, long before computers, I made a bit of money redoing layouts done by "cost effective" amateurs. May be that's what happened here.

Amazing transformation! I can't wait to see the rest! It does seem that, in my mostly art restoration-uneducated opinion, Mr Williamson overcleaned the painting and then attempted to fix his mistake. Some of the patches that you pointed out as needing retouching just give that scrubbed-down-to-canvas look that I've seen on other overcleaned paintings. I can't think of another reason why he would have destroyed the character of the subject like he did. Malice, maybe? A simmering grudge, unknown to the family of Patrick Samson Lloyd, that drove him to unsubtly destroy the painting under the guise of "restoration"? THAT'S why he put his nameplate on the back! So the whole world knows that, at last, he had his revenge!! 😂😂😂 (My degrees are in English Literature, can you tell?) I'd love to see some other paintings he "restored" or any works he painted from scratch, just to compare!

I noticed the label said "Repainted " rather than restored. The surface is so abraided, maybe someone was removing the soil and varnish with a sharp object such as a razor blade. 😮

👍

It's great that you were able to restore the original painting. What was that previous "conservator" thinking of? That must have been so frustrating to see, but so satisfying when you could bring back the original artist's work! Edit: I loved the segment from about 17.25!

Art conservation wasn't the same in 1869. Where you use conservation paints, this person probably used oil based paints. I'm sure it's more of an effort to remove. The techniques today is so superior to what they used to be. Too bad this guy wasn't a very talented artist when he decided to repaint the whole thing. Glad it's now in capable hands. He looks ten times better than before. I look forward to seeing how he turns out.

He started out looking like Charles Laughton but not now!

Wow what a difference! Amazing! I’m sure u know better than I do, but wouldn’t it be better/safer to start on somewhere besides the face to check the materials you’re using and if they’re to harsh? My luck I’d remove his entire nose 😂😂😂

Well done! Crack on😊🇨🇦👍🏼👏🏼

Great work. Why do you think it was overpainted at all, it doesn't look in that bad a condition?

As you clean the face, are you detecting the "true" painting purely by tone change and quality of work, or are there other clues? Was the retouch paint the same stuff (oil paint, I assume) as the original? Is there some handy dirt or varnish between the layers?

Great video as always! You mentioned potential overpainting/retouching…just curious but how do you detect overpainted sections in general? Is it just visually or maybe another way?