Restoration of Russian Icon

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

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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 face of St. George <#"802755.files/image032.jpg">

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>.