Old Russian Tempera Painting Conservation
Laboratory
The laboratory has old traditions. There worked such
famous masters as Y.V.Sosin, N.E.Davydov, N.V.Pertsev, S.F.Konenkov, I.P.Yaroslavtsev,
I.V.Yarygina. Their experience is highly appreciated, but in the last decade many things
have changed for new.
Particularly the methods of
clearing the latest layers from icons have been changed. Traditional ways of clearing by
means of softening the retouchings using compresses with organic dissolvents and then
their removal with scalpel gave way for careful and scrupulous work under the microscope.
Special microinstruments came up to take usual medical scalpels' place. Macro- and
microphotography became customary for everyday control of conservation conducting.
All these innovations raised
the quality of the clearing. If formerly the restorer removing retouchings relied often
only on his intuition, now using the microscope he can more precisely define the painting
condition and confidently control the clearing process. Using microinstruments, their size
being even smaller than the smallest scalpel, helps to achieve purity of paint surface
processing not damaging its safety.
New methods showed themselves
to advantage being used in the restoring process of the Stroganoff school icons, as their
tiny painting required fine work, and monuments as "Boris and Gleb" of the 14th
century, "The resurrection of Lazarus", the end of the 14th - beginning of the
15th century et al. Opening under the microscope, careful studying of the monuments
allowed to give more precise definition to traditional conception concerning technique and
technology of icon-painting.
