A difficult task is facing the restorer of ancient Russian painting Irina Khalbaeva - to fully reveal the author's paint layer on the icon "The Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem" (DRJ-1627) from multiple layers of repainting.
The icon was painted in the 1640s.
Preliminary research has shown that over the more than 380 years of its existence, it has been repaint several times. To be precise, the fields were repainted 7 times. The central part (centerpiece) was completely repainted 2 times.
The icon entered the Russian Museum in 1928 from the Alexander-Svirsky Monastery.
The author's image was hard to see under a continuous repainted layer and dark drying oil. All over the icon, there were "hummocks" and peeling of the paint layer. Ground lag at the edges.
First of all, in order to prevent further shedding of the paint layers, conservation work was carried out - the soil and paint layers were strengthened with an adhesive solution.
After that, the icon was thoroughly examined in cooperation with specialists from the Department of Technological Research. An X-ray was taken and the surface was examined in the infrared range of the spectrum. They showed a fairly well-preserved author's layer and a significant change in the author's drawing during repaintings.
Before starting the opening, the restorer visually examined the entire surface of the icon using a microscope. In order to understand the layering of later correspondences and reveal the real state of the author's painting, a place was chosen for a trial disclosure - on the left margin with an entrance to the centerpiece.
In this section, the methodology for further work was being worked out. The disclosure of the author's painting was carried out with a special microscalpel (with a cutting edge of 2-4 mm) by a microscope, "dry" (without using any solvents).
As a result, a well-preserved author's painting was revealed on a fragment of a trial disclosure. At the intermediate Restoration Council, it was decided to continue the work and gradually increase the area of ​​disclosure towards the central part of the icon.
Now you can see how the original image changed with the renovations. The image of the clothes and the outline of the nimbus of Christ has changed. Several more figures of the apostles were revealed in the author's image under the new halos of the apostles. The image of a donkey and slides has changed significantly.
Work continues...