HISTORY OF THE CHURCH PAINTING RESTORATION
HISTORY OF THE CHURCH PAINTING RESTORATION
The most valuable treasure of St. Cyril’s Church is its unique wall painting. In the 12th century the walls of St. Cyril’s Church were painted in the technique of frescoes, in accordance with the Christian iconographic canons of that time. In the 17th century the frescoes of the temple were partially restored with tempera paints. During the renovation of the temple in the 18th century its walls were not painted, but only plastered and whitewashed.
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In the second half of the 19th century it was decided to carry out new repairs: to remove from the walls all the previous layers of plaster and painting and apply new paintings. During the clearing of the layers, ancient paintings suddenly opened. It was this discovery that stimulated the invitation of Professor A. Prakhov, a professor of St. Petersburg University, a well-known art critic, and a specialist in the field of Christian iconography, to conduct research and restoration of ancient painting. When ancient paintings were cleared of centuries-old layers, the uniqueness of the find was discovered, which required a careful approach to the restoration of frescoes to respectfully preserve their authenticity. Then, in addition to the work of uncovering the frescoes, they copied and photographed the ancient frescoes. After much deliberation, A. Prakhov decided to add the lost fragments of frescoes, and in those parts of the walls where the images were completely lost, to write new images and compositions. However, despite Prakhov’s desire to keep the ancient painting open, according to the decision of the church commission, almost all the preserved frescoes were covered with oil paints, leaving their old plot and drawing, and new images were painted in places where the frescoes were lost.
In the 1950-80s in the “St. Cyril’s Church” museum complex repair and restoration works were started. It was then when the paintings of ancient masters were discovered from under the oil records of the 19th century, which is a kind of window into the gray antiquity. By studying this priceless artistic treasure, we, modern people, can dive into the depths of the ages and learn how and by whom this painting was created, whose desire is reflected in ancient painting, who was involved in the dictates of the iconographic program and so on. |
| In places where the fresco has not been preserved, oil paintings of the 19th century were left. This complex and painstaking work was carried out by artists L. Kalenichenko, O. Plyushch, A. Marampolsky, L. Totsky, P. Redko, O. Lisanevych, A. Ostapchuk, O. Kovalenko and others. Thanks to their efforts, more than 800 m2 of unique frescoes were unveiled, and today the museum exhibits authentic frescoes discovered from under oil paintings, one monumental tempera portrait of the 17th century and the quantitatively dominant oil painting of the 19th century. |