This article deals with the development of retouching paintings from the Renaissance to the present. The discussion of the justification of retouching paintings goes back to the 16th century. Until our time, when different opinions on the aesthetic and technical problems of the restoration of paintings became part of a broad and general discussion, the whole range from a complete rejection of retouching to the artistic intervention in the original painting by overpainting and improving weak areas can be shown in the historical literature.