Karaseva Olga –conservator of the first category, Penza Regional Picture Gallery named after K.A. Savitsky, oil paintings conservator.
E-mail: karasevaok@yandex.ru

The article is about the restoration, researches and creation of a reconstruction copy of a rare exhibit – a copy from Raphael's painting «The Holy Family of Francis I with St. Elizabeth, the Infant John and Angels» (1518). The painting was received for restoration from the collection of the Local History Museum-Reserve of the city of Narovchat, Penza region. It was painted in the first half of the 19th century by the serf artist Muravyev with oil paints on glass in the «églomisé» technique. The painting was in a ruined state. The area of losses was 50%. The article is about the history of the art monument and the conducted pre-restoration researches and the technique of consolidation of the paint layer of the glass painting. The article also presents the painting process of the reconstruction copy. By order of the museum, the restorer artist Karaseva O.K. has made the copy of that painting on canvas. The reconstruction copy allows to recreate a complete picture and see the painting without losses. As a result of the restoration work, a very rare exhibit and its reconstruction copy are returned to the museum. The copy is exhibited next to the original, which allows viewers to see the picture without losses. Currently, both paintings are in the main exposition of the Local History Museum-Reserve in Narovchat.

Copy, painting, restoration, painting layer, researches, fragment, glass, technique.

Kochkin Sergey –Ph.D. in Art history, The State Research Institute for Restoration, leading research associate; The Research Institute of Theory and History of Fine Arts of the Russian Academy of Arts, senior research associate.
E-mail: serzh.kochkin@inbox.ru

The Department of Scientific Expertise of The State Research Institute for Restoration stores an extensive archive of radiographs accumulated over half a century. A significant place in this archive is occupied by a collection of X-ray images of Russian paintings dating by the first half of the 20th century. It includes unpublished materials that are necessary for studying of works of many great masters. The X-rays were made as a part of conservation works and served these purposes. Now it is necessary to re-claim this very important material – already at an in-depth research stage. An X-ray can reveal the underlying image or the nature of the author’s corrections. X-rays can also help to evaluate the condition of the painting – see the areas of destruction and signs of conservation treatments. It also serves the purpose of studying the characteristics of the artist's painting techniques, making it possible to judge the nature of the artist’s touch, its form, the principles of modeling, the stages of work with the picture, and the materials used in the process of work. The results of the X-ray analysis play an important role in the study of the technical and technological structure of paintings, they are among the most important scientifical tools in attribution, they often make it possible to draw new conclusions on the dating. The fulfillment of the study theme “Research of the collection of radiographs (the period of the 1970s – early 1990s) of works of Russian painting of the first half of the 20th century from the museums of the USSR, stored in the archive of the department of scientific expertise of the State Research Institute for Restoration” is divided into several phases, starting with primary identification and systematization, digitization and archiving, then identification of the most informative and significant material, and finally its interpretation and introduction into scientific circulation. This research will contribute to the more effective and efficient solution to the problems arising in attribution and dating of works of Russian art of the first half of the 20th century stored in Russian museums.

X-ray, interpretation, restoration, painting, attribution, Tatlin, dating.

Ravich Irina –Dr. Ph. D., The State Research Institute for Conservation, metal research and restoration department, leading researcher.
E-mail: ravich41@mail.ru

The article is devoted to the study of the possibility of restoration by annealing of museum exhibits obtained from sheet brass with the application of pressure treatment аnd subjected to spontaneous cracking during storage. Restoration of similar products is associated with great difficulties since in the process of soldering cracks and straightening deformations they are distributed to other parts of the products. Тhe article is the result of research conducted and published by the author earlier, it was first established that the destruction of the exhibits is caused by corrosion cracking related to the presence of residual internal stresses in them and dezincinig. In this paper, the main attention was paid to the study of the possibility of eliminating internal stresses in products by annealing. The expediency of its application was tested on samples selected from cracked brass salaries originating from the funds of the The State Research Institute for Conservation. To determine the composition of the samples we used scanning electron microscope HitachiTM 4000 Plus with an attachment for electron-probe analysis Quaniax 75 (Bruker), the microstructure was studied by metallographic method on a microscope MIM-8, the stress level was assessed by measuring microhardness. Annealing was carried out in an electric muffle furnace at temperatures 200–700℃ for various times. As a result of the research, the author came to the conclusion that in most cases annealing at 400℃ for 15 min is sufficient to relieve internal stresses.

Salaries, brass, cracking, intercrystalline corrosion, dezincinig, annealing, electron microscopy, metallography, microhardness.

Skorokhod Alexander –The State Research Institute for Restoration, Junior Researcher of the Scientific Examination Department.
E-mail: skorohodios@yandex.ru

The State Research Institute for Restoration expertise has been researching Dutch art of the XV–XVII centuries for many years. Sometimes the works of major masters are received for research, information about which I want to convey to a wide range of readers. This work is also relevant for international relations. Within the framework of the scientific topic related to the artists of Northern Europe, several works related to the name of the famous Dutch painter of the XVI century Jan Gossart, nicknamed Mabuse (1478–1532), were received for examination by The State Research Institute for Restoration. This artist belongs to the so-called Antwerp school, influenced by the novelists. One of his most famous works is the triptych "Removal from the Cross" (1520–1521). The central part of it is now kept in the State Hermitage Museum (St. Petersburg, Russia). The State Research Institute for Restoration examination received several works attributed to the master's hand and his school. The first work I want to tell you about is attributed to the circle of Jan Gossart "Crucifixion with donors" (Oil on canvas. 99,6×113,6, the first third of the XVI century, the Netherlands), the second is attributed to the workshop of Jan Gossart "The Mockery of Christ" (Wood, oil, 1527–1530, the Netherlands). This article will tell about these two works. The aim of the work is a comprehensive study of two works by the Dutch artist Jan Mabuse in the examination department of The State Research Institute for Restoration. Also, such research helps us to improve the methods of complex research of the expertise department.

Art, Netherlands, Dutch artists, painting, expertise, Jan Gossart, art of Northern Europe, restoration.

Tikhomirova Ksenia –St. Petersburg Repin Academy of Fine Arts, assistant-lecturer of the painting restoration sub-department; the State Hermitage Museum, fine-art restorer.
E-mail: kseniyatikhomirova@gmail.com

The article concerns the issue of attribution. In the restoring and researching process over the “Theotokos” icon of the Deesis tier taken out by a field visiting ethnographic expedition in 1962 to the Historical and Art Museum of Pskov (these days the State Affiliated Historical and Architectural and Art Reserve Museum of Pskov) from the Trinity cathedral of the city of Ostrov (Pskov county) it was found out that the icon had not applied to the church from which it entered the museum, there were not ascertained the related icons of the Deesis tier entered from other churches of the city of Ostrov. Historical study of the devotional art replacement in XX century, archive reference, survey of the old Russian painting artifacts of the XVI century of Pskov facilitated to select relative icons for further expertise. The old-Russian painting artifacts presumably originated from the same with the icon in question iconosatasis were examined, set of technique and technological studies was conducted and thereafter all the examined icons being in possession of different museums – The State Affiliated Historical and Architectural and Art Reserve Museum of Pskov (Russia) and The Regional History and Art Museum of Daugavpils (Latvia) were compared. Visual similarity, correspondence of paint layers stratigraphy, as well as archive files allowed to refer the being studied “Theotokos” icon and also the Great martyr Dimitrious, Reverend Nilus, Michael and Gabriel the Archangels icons of unknown earlier origination from the collection of The State Affiliated Historical and Architectural and Art Reserve Museum of Pskov and the John the Baptist, Nicolaos the Wonderworker icons from the collection of the Regional History and Art Museum of Daugavpils to the same Deesis tier of the XVI century and conclude that all mentioned above icons originate from the Temple of Michael the Archangel of the city of Pskov.

Attribution, the XVI century icon of Pskov, old-Russian painting artifacts, Deesis tier of the XVI century, temple of Michael the Archangel of the city of Pskov, stylistic analysis, technique and technological studies of painting, stratigraphy, replaced art, occupation of Pskov during the Second World War.