A method based on the minimization of variation is presented for the identification of a completely unknown blur operator. We assume the knowledge of a blurred image and its original version. The class of blurring operators is identified in the class of compact operators. A variational method with negative norms is then used for the restoration of a blurred and noised image. The restoration method works for a wide class of blurring operators and we do not assume that the blur operator commutes with the Laplacian.