University of l)elaware: Art Conseryation Internship

Report of Examination and Proposal for Treatment

Accession Number: 91.13.020 Object: Russian Icon Date: 186 century Title: Resurrection wilh Twelve Feasts Artist or Maker: n/a Owner: University of Delaware University Museums c/o Janet Gardner Broske

Dimensions:

Height: 48.5 cm

Width:

39 cm Thickness:2 cm

Inscriptions and Labels: illegible pencil

inscriptions on the verso, incised inscriptions, and paper labels with numbers.

Condition: Poor
Examination Purposes: for treafrnent Examined By: Laura DiPasquale Consulted: Anya Shutov Examination Report Date: March 5, 2008 Description:
Painted on a flat panel in a traditional style, this icon depicts twelve feasts surrounding a central image of the resurrection. The order of the scenes is unusual, but some of the figures are distinguishable throughout; The Mother of God is depicted with a blue maphorion wfihthree stars. These golden stars, one above the forehead and one on each shoulder, are sometimes considered a symbol of the Holy Trinity, though iconographic tradition often considers them as symbolic of her virginity before, during and after childbirttr (Queno! l2l). In traditional Russian icons, the Virgin would be wearing a maroon mophorion In Early Italian paintings, the Virgin often wore a blue maphorion, since commissioners wanted the Virgin's clothing to be painted in the most expensive pigment, lapis lazuli. Traditionally, red drapery indicated interior spaces, and scenes were set outside to avoid problems with depicting interior spaces. The fact that in this icon the Virgin is wearing a blue maphorion suggests that the iconographer was probably influenced by Western painters. The unusual setting of the scenes inside buildings also shows Western influence (Shutov 2ll3l08). Christ is discernable by the markings in his halo and his clothing. There are three Greek letters on the halo that stand for "I am that I am," ttre words that God used to reveal himself to Moses oil Mount Sinai. Christ is also depicted with the inscribed letters IC XC the initials of Jesus Christ (Tradigo 231). lt is interesting to note that all

figures in the icon are painted from an angle, interacting with other figures in their scene. The only firlly frontal depictions are of Christ, in the center image of Resurrection and in the Transfiguration. The scenes are as follows: (top row, left to right): In the Trinity, three Archangels are siuing around the table: God the Father wears a blue garment symbolizing His divinity, God the Son wears red and blue symbolizng incarnation and the divine, and God the H$ly Spirit wears light blue and green, symbolizing heaven and earth, respectively. This image has an altemative narne, the "Hospitality of Abraham", which eliminated the issue of depicting God, which was prohibited by the Bible. This interpretation, which refers to Genesis 18, describes the appearance of three angels to Abraham at Mamre The next image is the Nativity of the Virgin, which depicts five figures, who all look towards the birth. Anne, mother of Virgin is sitting on a bed. Joachim (Virgin's father) is next to Anne. The parents are surrounded by few maidens. The third image is of the Presentation of the Vfugm, in which the Virgin is pictured as a miniadult, with a bhrc maphorian andrcd chiton, and stars onher maphorian. The three other figures, her parents, Anne and Joachim, and the priest Zechanah, all look to her. According to tradition, the Mother of God was presented at the Temple of Jerusualem when she was three years old. Behind Zechaiahis the veil of the Temple, hidingthe Ark of the Covenant. The Mother of God is the first and only woman to enter the "Holy of Holies," and she herself would become the temple of Christ (Quenot 51) The final image on the top depicts the Annunciation. The Archangel Gabriel stands to the left of the scene, raises his right hand and tilts a cross in his left hand towards a bowing Virgin. He is revealing that the Virgin will conceive the Son of God.

(down left side): In the Nativity of Christ, the baby Christ wrapped in white is hovering in the center of the image while the Virgin, Joseph, and the three Magi look on.
The next image is of the Presentation of the child Christ by His parents to the priest Simeon in the Temple. The scene is meant to take place in front of the altar, whichcould be represented in this iconby the blue drapery. The presentation of the child Christ embodies the concept of the o'Author of the Law accomplishing what was laid down by the laf' (Vespers l). St. Anne stands in the background (Boguslawski).

(down right side): In the Baptism of Christ, a nude Christ is attended by John the Baptist and the Archangel. This scene is based on the Gospel of Mark (l:10-l l), and is also known as the Theophany, because it is the point at which Christ begins His minis@ of salvation. In Eastern Orthodox tradition, the baptism of Christ marked one of two occasions when the three members of the Trinity manifested themselves simultaneously. God the Father may be symbolized in this icon by the clouds and ray of light above Christ. Christ is shown being baptued in the river Jordan.

The next image is the Transfiguration, which shows Christ standing Mount Tabor in the center, with Moses and Elijah on either side of Him. Peter, James and John are kneeling at the base of the mountain, stunned and ecstatic from seeing the deified body of Christ, standing on an equal plane with Moses and Elijah, the two seers of the Old Testament (Tradigo 125). Based offthe Synoptic Gospels, this scene is significant because it revealed the glory of Christ's divinity to his disciples, and showed that He was not another prophet, but was greater than any other. ("The Significance..")
I

(bottom row, left to right): In the Entry into Jerusalem, Christ, who identified by the symbols in his halo, is riding a white donkey and greeting a woman. He is descending the Mount of Olives. He is followed by a man with a halo, probably one of the Apostles. Christ's entry into Jerusalem fulfilled Zechariah's.. prophecy of the arrival of a king and savior (Matthew 2l:4-5, Zochaiah9:9), and is paradoxical because the initial triumph of his enfiy is countered by the fact that the following day He will be crucified (Tradigo 130). The next scene is of the Ascension of the Virgin, and portrays the Virgin standing in the center, with two angels dressed in white on either side of her with raised hands, looking towards onlookers. An image of Christ's head and halo floats above the scene. The Assumption (Dormition) of the Virgin, depicts the dead Virgin lying on abed, with Christ above her, holding her soul, which is a small figure, clothed all in white and in a sitting position. The final scene on the bottom is of the Elevation of the Cross, and shows a central image of a black cross, with one female and three male figures. These figures could be the Bishop Macarius, and the Saints Constantine and Helen, his mother (Tradigo 155). The central image is of a simplified Anastasis with a smaller Western Resurrection above it. In the Anastasis, Christ is surrounded by a backdrop of red, and is flanked by multiple haloed figures. It depicts His triumphal descent into Hades, where he raises Adam and Eve from their grave (Ouspensky 188). Christ's right hand is outstretched towards a bearded figure who kneels beside him. Traditionally in depictions of the Resurrection, Christ grasps the hand of Adam, who stares at Him with a look ofjoy and fatigue (Quenot 139). The woman in the foreground could be Eve, who traditionally kneels timidly at Christ's feet. The f.ing; David and Solomon often stand to Christ's left, wearing royal robes (Quenot 139) The four iorner segments of this image are shaped irregularly and are filled with Evangelist portraits, and are identified by their inscriptions; Clockwise from top left: John, Matthew, Luke, Mark.

Support:
Construction: The panel is constructed of two separate pieces, both of which are cut tangentially. These pieces are connected by a butt joint, with no overlapping. While they are probably glued together, there is no evidence of glue in the joints. The larger of the two pieces is26.7cm (10.5in) wide, and the smaller piece is l2.7cm (5in) wide.

There are two battens, which are tapered slightly and come from either side. The batterU which is inserted on the verso from the left, is 8.3cm from the bottonr, and the batten inserted from the right is 34.3cm from the bottom. The battens are horizontally incised on the top and bottom. The puqpose of these incisions appears to be purely ornamental, as they do not appear to have an iconographic purpose. There are some smaller unidentified tool markings along the edges of the panel. There are some visible knots on the verso, but they are small. These are at l l cm from the left, 33 cm from thp bottom, and -.75 cm in diameter; 9.5 cm from the left, 43 cm from the bottom, -1.5 cm in diameter; and26.5 cm from the left,20 cm from the bottom, and -1.5 cm in diameter; 25 cm from left, 30 cm from the bottom, and I cm in diameter. Above the left bottom batteno there appears to be a wooden dowel insert, which may have been put in to replace a popped knot. This insert (and its accompanying fill) is located on the left edge of the panel, is 3.5 cm wide and is 13-15.5 cm from the bottom. There is a metal hook still in place, and it protudes from the front of the panel about I mmo and is 4cm long and located 19cm from the left. On the verso, the hook is located lScm from the left and approximately 39crr from the bottom, and is 3 cm in diameter. It appears to be an original hangng device, although this is conjecture. There is also a more modem hanging device that consists of d-rings and a wire. These are located 42 en from the bottom and 1.5 cm from the right and left sides.

Detail af hook
Condition The panel is warped. The warp is convex, and is 1.5cm displaced from the center. The verso is dark and oxidized, and there are some scratches that are lights and frestr, indicating relatively recent damage. There is some evidence of insect damage (small exit holes), which are especially prevalent in the upper batten, but also are present on the panel itself. The holes are about lmm in diameter, but the infestation does not appear to be active. The battens are loose. The metal hook that is poking through the surface of the icon has started to corrode. The corrosion is brown.

Ground, Bole, Gilding, Paint:

Construction: The ground is made of a very thin, smooth white gesso, which was applied with consistent thickness throughout. Traditionally, the gesso would have been applied in layers, but this is not obvious on this piece. There is gilding in most of the scenes, particularly in the halos of the various figures. The gilding is probably water gilding, since the edges of the pieces of applied gilding are apparent. Some of the gilding appears to have been done hastily, as they do not follow the borders that they are intended to fill (see details below). The gilding is silver colored, likely with atintd coating on top to make it appear gold. The bole undemeath the metal leaf is red. There is paint

on top of the gilding in some, but not all areas. It appears that the silver leaf was applied first, followed by the roskirsh, outlines, and the painting of the majority of the other figures, then varnish was applied to the silver leaf to make it appear gold. The figures over the gilded background were painted last. These are generally black outlines and transparent glazes, as seen in the background of the Resurrection, and the scene of the Transfiguration, where transparent reds are used for shadows. The paint has characteristics of egg tempera: it is of lean vehicular consistency; it is also matte, smooth and wa$ applied thinly. The paint was applied in the traditional method, with the garments and background painted with dark blues, greens, red and yellow, outlined with brown, and highlighted with hatching in white and mustard yellow. The red is highlighted with yellow and outlined with dark brown. Blue garments are highlighted with light blue and outlined with black. Green is highlighted with light green and not outlined. Navy blue (such as the Virgids garment) is highlighted with thin yellow lines. Tan garments are highlighted with white and outlined with brown. The second highlight appears to be more curved than it would be traditionally. The faces and hands were painted brown first, then outlined with a lighter tan color, with white highlights for hands and gleam in eye. Black was added to the eyes and eyebrows and around the head. There is writing in black in the border and within the images. The icon is painted with broad patches of color that do not always correspond perfectly with the

outlines of the figures in the scene. One example of this is a maidservant who blends into the background because her garments are not outlined, and no color is added to distinguish her from the mustard yellow background. Many of the haloes appear to have been gilded hastily, and are often square patches of gold that do not fill their outlines completely. The backgrounds of some of the scenes depict abstracted architecture.

Details showingtechnique of

Elevation of the Cross

Nativity

Presentation in the Temple

Condition: While the panel itself is relatively stable, the paint and gilding are not. There is crackle throughout the entire piece, in both the paint and the gesso, except in the lower right quadrant. The craquelure is uneven, and is most pronounced following the joint, and along the pith of the larger panel, thus creating tenting in two vertical strips, each about l/3 from the left and right edges. The pattem of the craquelure is both parallel and perpendicular to the grain of the wood,

6-

but the parallel crackle is more pronoulced. There is tenting in a vertical directiort, everywhere except the lower right, and most of the cracks lead to larget areas of blind cleavage. There are losses in the paint and ground along the tented areas and cracks in the exposed ground. The varnish is abraded in some axeas over the gilding, which has led to minute tarnishing of the silver leaf below.

Sur{ace Coatings and Restorations : Conqfruction: There is evidence of previous restoration, with at least one campaigR. These restorations appear darker under UV light, and have slightly rough texture to them. The restorations that were done in large sections are located along the bottom of the piece. The first restoration is approximately 22.5 sq. cm and is located at I cm from the left edge. The next is 6.75 sq. cm and begins at 15.5 cm from the left. The next is 20 cm from the left and is approximately 4 sq. cm. The last restoration is approximately 30 sq. cm and is located 28 cm from the left. There is further restoration running vertically, along the joint. Other restoration has been conducted around the metal hook and the knot on the lower left. The restorations consist of fills of a white material which are poody leveled. These fills are covered with brown paint, which was applied with wide brush strokes, in areas around the edges. In areas within scenes, there was an atternpt to match original colors, but the paint itself is too matte and does not match the surrounding finishes. The restorations appear darker under UV light (see detail). There appears to be a layer of varnish that is probably not original, since, when viewed under UV light, it appears to be spread over the areas of restoration. The vamish could be synthetic or natural resin, and it fluoresces apale green under UV light. It is kind of matte and appears gritty/pebbly, perhaps indicating that it was sprayed on. The varnish is sensitive to KECK 3, with four parts mineral spirits, tlree parts acetone and three parts diacetone alcohol.

Ico4under Wlight Conditioq: The varnish has discolored, especially over the restorations, and the paint over the fills also no longer matches the original colors. Some of the fills have started to crack and delaminate, especially along the bottom edge. There is a layer of grime covering the whole piece, as well as grime underneath the surface coating.

("

Treatment Proposal: l. Carry out pre-treatnent written and photo documentation.

2. Consolidate the ground and the paint. 3. Surface clean the painting with aqueous system. 4. Consider the removal of old restoration paint. 5. Fill the areas of loss in ground and paint. 6. Locally apply alayer of isolating vamish. 7. Inpaint locallyl 8. Locally apply a final layer of varnish

9.

Cany out post-treafinent written and photo documentation

Permission to proceed with treatment

I have received the Report on Condition and Proposal for Treatnent prepared by Laura DiPasquale regarding number 9 I . I 3.020, Resurre ction w ith Tw elve Feasts.
As owner or agent for this painting/object I give permission for the treatnent to proceed as outlined in the report.

Janet Gardner Broske

Date

Curator, University Museums, moosie@udel.edu, 302-83 I - I 043 I 14 Old College, University of Delaware

Laura DiPasquale

Date 3/6/08

Works Cited Boguslawski, Andrew. "Icon Painling." 2005. Rollins College. 24 Mar.-Apr.2008
<http ://www.rollins.edu/Foreign_LanglRussian/frame I .hfinF.

Ouspensky, Leonid, and Vladimir Lossky. The Meaning of Icons. Trans. E. Kadloubovsky. Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir's Seminary P, 1983. Quenot, Michel. The Icon: the Window on the Kingdom. Trans. A Carthusian Monk. Crestwood,
I

NY: St. Vladimir's Seminary P,1991.

Shutov, Anya. "Iconography." Lecture. University of Delaware, Newark. l3 Feb.2008. Na.

'The Significance of the Lord's Transfiguration." Transfiguration of Our Lord. 2008. Russian
Orthodox Church. Mar.-Apr. 2008 <http://www.holytransfi guration. org/transfrg_si

gnif.htnF.

Tradigo, Alfredo. Icons and Saints of the Eastern Orthodox Church. Trans. Stephen Sartarelli.
Los Angeles: The J. Paul Getty Museum, 2006.