Researchers from the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR) report that art critics and restorers are at St. George’s Abbey of St. George’s Cathedral and in the Church of Simeon the Receiver of God of the Zverin Monastery in Veliky, he helped them determine the true colors of the frescoes. According to the press service of the institute, in Novgorod and in the Smolensky Cathedral in the Novodevichy Convent in Moscow.
Under the influence of various conditions – temperature, humidity, changes in the vital activity of microorganisms – over the years the colors of many ancient temple frescoes can change beyond recognition. Scientists from JINR use a variety of methods to find out the artist’s true intentions.
Research begins with a portable, non-destructive X-ray fluorescence analyzer that determines the composition of the sample’s elements allowing you to understand which dyes are being used. Then in the lab, polarization microscopy allows you to distinguish pigments, and infrared spectroscopy helps determine what the dye is mixed with. Microchemical analysis is also carried out in the laboratory, and neutron activation analysis allows you to accurately determine the elemental composition.
Specialists applied these methods to study various cultural monuments of Veliky Novgorod, Pskov and Moscow. Thus, scientists believe that the color of the cloak in the fresco of St. George the Victorious is St. It turned out that the white lead of the frescoes distorted and “repainted” the artwork. It also turned out that they were the culprits of the “darkening” of the folds of clothing of one of the archangels, depicted on the drum of the Smolensk Cathedral of the Novodevichy Convent in Moscow.
The frescoes depicting the three apostles by the famous Greek Theophan from the Church of Simeon showed that under the influence of heat, yellow ocher turned red in a matter of minutes: it appeared in 1471 during the conquest of Veliky Novgorod by Ivan. III, the building survived a fire.
Currently, the research team is trying to find out that the colors of the frescoes in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin were actually significantly altered by restorers of past centuries.
Source: Ferra
I am a professional journalist and content creator with extensive experience writing for news websites. I currently work as an author at Gadget Onus, where I specialize in covering hot news topics. My written pieces have been published on some of the biggest media outlets around the world, including The Guardian and BBC News.
