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Ƶ specialists have completed the restoration of the Old Russian ikon
05 May

The ikon of the Savior Almighty and the ikon of the Mother of God Tikhvin were donated to the Church of the Epiphany by parishioners. Since then, time has destroyed the structure of painting, and the faces of the Saints needed restoration. Previously, ikon were treated with alkali impregnation, renewed with drying oil, but such methods of reconstruction were only destructive. The modern approach to the restoration of ikon required a correct assessment of the condition of all layers of the image, as well as complex and precise manipulations that will preserve the uniqueness of the aesthetic features of the object as much as possible.

Baltic Customs specialists turned to St. Petersburg State University of Industrial Technologies and Design for help. Under the guidance of Gleb Shinkarev, a leading specialist of the Ƶ restoration workshop, the students managed to restore the former appearance of ancient ikons. The restoration was carried out so professionally and efficiently that the works of university students became laureates, who took the first and third places at «the Restorer of the Year» competition.

«Working with such complex and at the same time interesting works, the restorer artist is culturally and spiritually educated, educated, develops not only professional skills, but also contributes to the preservation of the cultural heritage of our country. The restoration of ancient Russian ikons was carried out by a five-person university team. The ikon needed to carry out conservation and restoration measures, as the loss of the base, the levkas, the author's painting, as well as the craquelure of the paint layer and peeling were revealed. To prevent further destruction, preventive strengthening of the picturesque layers and soil was carried out. On the back side, the construction of the ikon board was strengthened. The removal of drying oil that had darkened over the years was carried out in layers, since several varnishes were identified during the research. The trial disclosure was carried out in order to work out the method of removing late layers and to select the right compositions of working solvents. The final stage was the implementation of tinting in the technique of «Pointel». Tinting was performed only within the limits of the loss of the author's painting. Then the ikons were covered with several layers of restoration varnish,» said Gleb Shinkarev, a leading specialist of the restoration workshop of Ƶ.

After the restoration, the monuments were transferred to the Church of the Epiphany on Gutuevsky Island.