Restoration of Russian Icon
THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION
AND SCIENCE OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATIONPetersburg State Academy of Art and Design
: English: Restoration of
the Russian Icons
Author:
student RG-61 Chudaykina Elizaveta
Peterburg
Russian Icons - A Short Historyof
IconsschoolschoolschoolschoolRestorationIcons Restoration and
ConservationRestoration Process
Icons - A Short History
since Russia's conversion to Christianity in 988, icons [from
the Greek "eikon"= image or representation] have been an important
part of the liturgy of the Russian Orthodox Church and increasingly were an
important part of the domestic life of ordinary Russians in Imperial times.
With the expansion of the Russian Empire between the 16th and 19th centuries
and the creation of a Russian diaspora through emigration in the 19th and early
20th centuries their presence extended into the Baltic countries, Western Europe
and the New World.embedded part of the liturgy of the Russian Orthodox Church,
they were used as a means of teaching Christianity to a largely illiterate
population. They were also seen as being attributed with miraculous events
through Divine intervention and as a manifestation of God's continued love,
mercy and power. They were frequently displayed before battles to re-assure
soldiers of God's protection and the righteousness of their cause.was their
presence restricted to Churches, Monasteries and Great Houses. Even the most
modest of homes had its Holy Corner to display at least one icon and as early
as the 16th century rules appeared as to how to clean and treat icons within
the home.meet the needs of the great cathedrals and the humblest of homes icons
came in all sizes and a large number were portable to provide spiritual comfort
and re-assurance whilst travelling.was used particularly for Travelling Icons
but the principal medium was wood, usually pine or linden. The outer parts of
the tree were often used for icons between 30- 35cms width and gives them a
distinctive curved appearance. The larger icons usually intended for places of
worship were made from boards nailed together. The wood was often hollowed out
in the centre to provide a raised border or ' kovcheg' [Russian ="ark
"]. The wood strengthened with battens to restrict warping was then
covered with washed-out linen ["pavoloka"] and primed with chalk or
plaster though the priming and the appearance of kovchegs was less common in
the production of the less expensive icons. Egg tempura paint was used to
decorate the icon which was finished with a final layer of varnish made from
vegetable oils. Unfortunately this traditional finish itself darkened after
fifty to eighty years which led to the constant demand to clean or re-paint the
original work.the Churches and great houses the icons were often further
adorned with covers that were exposed only to show the face and hands of the
subject and leaving the remainder of the icon un-revealed. These covers known
as 'oklads' or 'rizas' could be sumptuous creations of gold or silver or, more
mundanely, copper, brass or base metal. There could also be a fabric covering
enriched with pearls. In the most important icons precious stones were in-set
into the oklad or the painting itself.designs are traditional and follow strict
guidelines laid down by Canon Law. However, this did not prevent the great
centres of icon creation Novgorod [12-17 cent.],Pskov [13-16th cent.], Tver
[13-17th cent.] and Moscow [14-17th cent.] from introducing their own
subtleties of style. By the 19th century the major centres of icon painting had
moved to Palek, Mstera and Kholui with the latter especially concentrating on
folk art within the context of iconography.the 15th century icon painters were
largely anonymous with Theophanes and Andrew Rublev being exceptions. The
latter's "Trinity" being heralded by the Church as the blueprint for
all further icons depicting this subject. Subsequently other painters emerged
from anonymity with Simon Ushakov in the 17th, Leonev in the 18th and Balyakin
and Butorin the 19th. The Bogatyryov family were important miniature icon
painters at this timerepresenting Christ either as an"Image
Not-Made-by-Hands" [The Mandylion] or as The Saviour [The Pantocrator]
were most popular. Veneration of Mary was widespread. Legend has it her
representation was based on two portraits made by St Luke. These are the
"Hodegetria" [The Presentation] and the "Oumileinye"
[Tenderness] which shows a loving and more inter-active relationship between
Mother and Son. From these two originals as many as 300 variations of Mother
and The Christ child have evolved.teaching aids and representations of
venerated Saints, icons reflect the breadth of subjects of early Christian life.
St Nicholas is especially attributed with special powers of protection amongst
the Russian faithful. John the Baptist, St George, SS Boris and Gleb, and
Bishop Sergius are important figures in Russian iconography. Icons were also
used to mark particular events throughout the Church year and in the lives of
the Saints.centuries of repression in Russia icons have offered comfort and
support in difficult times. They embedded themselves so deeply in the Russsian
psyche that they continued to provide spiritual strength throughout Russia's
turbulent 20th century.To-day they remain very much central to the Russian
Orthodox Church but have also acquired an additional role as works of art...
fine and folk... to be admired for their intrinsic value.
of Icons
school
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russian icon restoration school
The two basic methods of icon restoration differ in the
degree of restorers' intervention into the material structure of the work. The
first method, a simple "renewal" of the icon, is non-destructive and
is most often used on lightly damaged icons. The losses in the ground are
filled and the surface of the icon is partially or completely repainted over
the old varnish. Sometimes, the entire surface of the old icon is covered with
the new ground. The new ground covers the original composition so well that
sometimes a completely different composition is painted over it. After several
centuries, such an icon becomes a "carrier" of many clearly distinguishable
layers which can be separated and removed.second method of
"restoration" is much more destructive because it is used whenever
the icon has considerable losses of the ground and the color layer or when the
varnish is too dark and needs to be removed. The bumps in the ground are cut
out with a knife, and the painted surface is cleaned; sometimes, to make it
smooth, the restorer rubs it with pumice. Then, the icon is repainted with
fresh paints directly over the old painted surface and over the new fragments of
the ground. As a result, the image on the icon turns into a mosaic of fragments
from different centuries hidden under the fresh layer of paint. Even the best
scientific restoration of such an icon cannot determine precisely when the
overpainting was done and which fragments of the icon are still original.the
damaged fragments of icons, Russian and Soviet restorers have followed the
following principles:
. Complete restoration of the work to its original
appearance. This principle has three distinct historical phases, each producing
results of different quality:
· naive repainting ("renovation")
· complete restoration of iconography
· scientific and artistically justified
reconstruction.
. Preservation of the original parts of the old work only.
This principle contradicts the first principle and disallows any reconstruction
of the losses. The restorer's intervention is limited exclusively to
preservation of the surviving fragments of the work and to the removal of
overpaintings.
. Rejection of any visible additions by the restorers. It can
be called a principle of archeological restoration because it obliges the
restorers during their revealing of the original layer of paint to preserve,
wherever possible, of various layers of overpainting. The result of such
restoration is a monument of history of culture and not a work of art which
embodies the idea and the genius of its author. The main principle of such
restoration is to leave the previously repaired and restored fragments intact.
Today, with the help of computers, anyone can engage
in the "restoration" of icons without fear of irretrievably
destroying a magnificent work of art. Digital reconstruction allows us to take
a "hypothetical" look at some of the most damaged icons. In the
example at the top of this page, I have "reconstructed" the damaged
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Icons restoration and conservation should reduce the
number of operations as much as possible, all newly added elements should be
singled out, all additions executed in a modern style. Modern methods of
restoration permit the application of all latest achievements of science and
diverse physicochemical methods of research for the strengthening of object of
art. Diverse materials may be used in the process of restoration but on the
surface they should be close to the original materials of the icon and be
reversible.and conservation of Russian icons and material culture more often
has their reconstruction in the condition most close to the original for an
object.the methods of clearing the latest layers from icons have been changed.
Traditional ways of clearing by means of softening the retouching using
compresses with organic dissolvents and then their removal with scalpel gave
way for careful and scrupulous work under the microscope. Special micro
instruments came up to take usual medical scalpels’ place. Macro- and
microphotography became customary for everyday control of conservation
conducting.
Restoration
Process
It is important to understand that the restoration of icons
requires an extremely careful and respectful approach at all stages of the
process. An icon is piece of multilayer art, comprised of a wooden base, layers
of gesso, canvas, and a painted layer which is often parcel gilt and, finally,
covered with many layers of varnish. No two icons are exactly identical in
their construction or painting technique.of icons begins with a careful
examination, then the sub-surface layers are streightened with special glues
and damage to these layers such as chips, cracks, bumps and flaking are
restored. Only after these steps can restoration of a central painting field
begin - the restorer has to choose between slight tints in some areas and
complete repaints in other areas which sustained complete losses. After that,
the outer layers are repaired, such as gilding and writing on the margins.
Finally, the icon is coated with special varnishes for preservation purposes.
The restorer always aims to blend the restored parts with original surfaces in
order to create a unified appearance without clearly visible signs of
restoration.
1. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feast_of_Orthodoxy>;
2. <http://www.russianstore.com/restoration.htm>;
3. <http://myweb.rollins.edu/aboguslawski/Ruspaint/resto.html>;
4. <http://www.grashe.com/russianIcons_restoration.html>.