iniaturization, leading in the 16th century to Stroganov School, in the 17th to the art of the tsar's icon-painters (partially influenced by Western art), and in the 18th century to local icon-painting workshops (Palekh, Mstera)
6. realistic tendency as seen in parsunas lt; # justify gt; school
lt; # 151 src= doc_zip26.jpg / gt; lt; # 168 src= doc_zip27.jpg / gt; lt; # 180 src= doc_zip28.jpg / gt; lt; # justify gt; School icons: From left to right: The Anastasis (Descent into Hell) (14th c.), St. George Slaying the Dragon (16th c.), Synaxis of the Virgin (sec. Half of the 14th c.), The Old Testament Trinity (15th c.). History of old Pskov was always connected with the struggle for independence. The little brother of Novgorod seems to have been always fighting against foreign invaders, even though, like Novgorod, Pskov was not affected by the Mongol conquest.icons display less sophistication and artistry in execution than those of Novgorod, but they show a greater degree of poetic inspiration. Pskov icons have their own, particular style. The frescoes of Mirozhsky monastery were painted in a static and formal archaic manner. The icons of Pskov show a somber, but intense emotionalism. With time, the style of Pskov icons evolved, incorporating some elements from the Novgorodian art. From Novgorod the painters borrowed certain favorite topics and learned to use strong outlines which increased the graphic quality of their work. The earliest Pskov icons were monumental but the painters skillfully used intense colors (different from the toned-down colors of Kievan School) and created compositions with a strong rhythmic quality, often sacrificing the elegance of proportions to the dynamism of action. The painters of Pskov had a number of favorite compositions which they liked to replicate. Like the Novgorodians, they favored St. Nicholas and Elijah, but they also found inspiration in the stories of Christ s descent into Hell, the Nativity, and the Synaxis (gathering) of the Virgin. One of the distinguishing factors of Pskovian icons is the painters preference of the deep Pskovian red and the deep Pskovian green.
Restoration
russian icon restoration school
The two basic methods of icon restoration differ in the degree of restorers 'intervention into the material structure of the work. The first method, a simple renewal of the icon, is non-destructive and is most often used on lightly damaged icons. The losses in the ground are filled and the surface of the icon is partially or completely repainted over the old varnish. Sometimes, the entire surface of the old icon is covered with the new ground. The new ground covers the original composition so well that sometimes a completely different composition is painted over it. After several centuries, such an icon becomes a carrier of many clearly distinguishable layers which can be separated and removed.second method of restoration is much more destructive because it is used whenever the icon has considerable losses of the ground and the color layer or when the varnish is too dark and needs to be removed. The bumps in the ground are cut out with a knife, and the painted surface is cleaned; sometimes, to make it smooth, the restorer rubs it with pumice. Then, the icon is repainted with fresh paints directly over the old painted surface and over the new fragments of the ground. As a result, the image on the icon turns into a mosaic of fragments from different centuries hidden under the fresh layer of paint. Even the best scientific restoration of such an icon can not determine precisely when the overpainting was done and which fragments of the icon are still original.the damaged fragments of icons, Russian and Soviet restorers have followed the following principles:
. Complete restoration of the work to its original appearance. This principle has three distinct historical phases, each producing results of different quality:
· naive repainting ( renovation )
· complete restoration of iconography
· scientific and artistically justified reconstruction.
. Preservation of the original parts of the old work only. This principle contradicts the first principle and disallows any reconstruction of the losses. The restorer's intervention is limited exclusively to preservation of the surviving fragments of the work and to the removal of overpaintings.
. Rejection of any visible additions by the restorers. It can be called a principle of archeological restoration because it obliges the restorers during their revealing of the original layer of paint to preserve, wherever possible, of various layers of overpainting. The result of such restora...
