Restoration - the art of renewal
4 September 2012

Restoration artists of the INTARSIYA restoration company talked about the restoration of monumental paintings to the editors of the State Hermitage Museum website.

Irina Sergeevna Denisova, the scientific curator for the restoration work, took us on a tour of the restored works. Our first stop was in Hall No. 15. The hall enters into the enfilade of state rooms forming part of Chancellor Count K.V. Nesselrode's apartments. The painted details of these rooms were carried out under the supervision and with the participation of Italian artist Giovanni Battista Scotti. The entire complex is decorated with frescoes using glue painting techniques, was in a very poor condition by the time it reached us. Paint was peeling off, plasterwork was destroyed, numerous additions as part of restoration had all combined to give the restorers an extremely difficult task. Serious research was necessary to determine what the original appearance of the decor was. In each hall specialists documented the necessary approaches for restoration. It included archived documents, results of chemical and physical expert opinions, photographic imaging. Only after this could the master restorers begin their own restoration work. Five teams work to restore a monumental art piece. The teams are made up of the highest qualified restorers, graduates of Stieglitz Industrial Art Academy. One of the teams is managed by Mikhail Gennadyevich Rogoznov. Together with his colleagues, Irina Platova and Olga Petrova, he talked about the work process. At the first stage they provide additional support for the frescoes, then after removing the adhesive film, the restorers begin cleaning the painting. They often have to remove the results of earlier restorations which were not good enough. Acrylic paint was often used during restoration work of the Soviet period, later work was executed in a dry and overbearing manner which covered the light painting of the Italian master. And the remains of the bread crumbs which were traditionally used for cleaning paintings became food for harmful fungi (this was demonstrated by a photo using ultraviolet light). Only after carrying out the necessary restorative procedures: cleaning, conserving, repairing damage - did the full range of the pictorial decoration "breathe with united breath". During the restoration a new method was used to restore fragments of a painting found on fabric (muslin), included for the ceiling composition. The fragments were removed from the ceiling and copied, that is to say transferred to an image-copying fabric. In this case it was not a canvas with a pronounced texture, but a thin transparent mesh fabric. It is covered with an extremely thin layer of glue (only 25 micron) and the image is transferred using a pressing process. The advantage of this method is that the restorer sees both sides of the fragment. The fabric does not appear beneath the layer of paint and is easily copied. After cleaning, the conservation and repairing damage using pointelle the fragment will be returned to its historical location.

In one of the halls exquisite allegorical figures have been preserved, executed in oil on artificial marble by the Italian A. Vigi. The frescoes were done by the Dadonov brothers, who specialised in this genre. The restorers succeeded in returning the astonishing beauty and freshness to the hall.

The work of the restorers is similar to archaeological research. Beginning with the discovery of some monument, nobody knows what may be concealed under a layer of paint. Thus, on one of the staircases a painting was found of the original sets of stairs. Fortunately, the painting, which had been painted over by decorators, was preserved in its original appearance.

The restoration of the historical interiors of the General Staff Building is a time consuming and laborious task. Restoration artists are pleased to be presented with the opportunity to carry out the entire series of work, maintaining completely the necessary techniques for scientific restoration. The masters have at hand materials of the very highest quality: natural gum, Italian paint, white lime from Germany. Such a professional approach to the work guarantees that the unique images of the monumental paintings from the neoclassical period will be preserved.

М.B. Piotrovsky