--- Final Restoration Report ---
Five Icons from the Tower of Pope John XXIII
This group includes five works of Russian sacred art previously studied by various scholars such as X. Barbier de Montault (1867), A. Muñoz (1928), and Marisa Bianco Fiorin (1991, 1992).
The restoration was an opportunity to temporarily remove the metal covers from the wooden panels and examine these beautiful works from the Collection of the Popes. This synergistic work between the Medieval and Byzantine Department and the various laboratories has made it possible to discover further novelties, which determine, with more exactness, the dating and provenance of the icons.
Our Lady of Yaroslavl
The work is an elaboration in Russian art of the famous Byzantine prototype of the Virgin “of Tenderness.” According to tradition, in the first half of the thirteenth century, the princes of Yaroslavl, Vassily and Konstantin, brought an icon “of Tenderness” to Yaroslavl by placing it in the city cathedral, hence the name. Several miracles have a connection to the ancient work.
The Vatican icon has a metallic silver coating (see the picture below), and is from Kostroma, around 1783, as confirmed by the stamps. The covering has enrichments that include a textile strip made of threads woven by the skilled hands of Russian artisans and has finely stone and pearl decorations. During the restoration, restorers removed the metal covering. The analysis of the work revealed its poor state of preservation: abrasions, damages, and losses from the pictorial layer.
Our Lady of Kazan
Ferdinand I, King of Bulgaria, gave the small Vatican travel icon to Pope Pius XI. The work is a copy of the famous Mother of God of Kazan’ and a variant of the Byzantine iconographic type of the Mother of God Odigitria (gr.: “She who shows the way” – the Virgin points with her right hand to Jesus, who is the way of salvation). The work includes a gold frame in an octagonal shape and precious stones.
The Finnish master Henrik Wigström, one of the most important goldsmith masters of the Maison Fabergé of St. Petersburg, made this valuable frame. By analyzing the various stamps present, it was possible to establish that the work was from 1908 to 1917 (before the October Revolution). During the restoration, the restorers removed the frame from the work. This action made it possible to clean the pictorial layer of the icon and study its support. The scientific investigations carried out for the first time by the Scientific Research Laboratory of the Museums showed that the painting is in oil on gilded silver foil.
Our Lady of Vladimir and Eight Saints
This Vatican copy of the famous Russian icon was on display in the Private Pontifical Apartment of St. Paul VI until September 9, 1978.
Since 1150 in Russia and in the city of Vladimir, near the Cathedral of the Dormition, a Byzantine panel of the Virgin depicted half-length with the Child Jesus in her arms while she inclines her head toward him with great tenderness has significant meaning to the city. Over the centuries, several miracles have been attributed to this icon, thanks to which it became one of the most venerated icons in ancient Rus’.
The work under analysis includes a “Riza,” a metal covering in silver, enriched with stones and made by Muscovite masters in 1797. During the restoration, restorers discovered for the first time the monograms of the angels and of the Holy Spirit on the metal covering. Also the other inscriptions and the engravings of the tituli accompanying the scenes of the saints, had never been dissolved and published before. Also the study of the punches present on the lower side of the metal coating brought out an interesting finding: inside the first heart-shaped stamp, there is an abbreviation in Cyrillic characters:”АО/П”. It is an “Alderman” punch, i.e. of an Elder of the Silversmith Guild, who had to supervise and control the quality of the products made by the craftsmen. He was active in Moscow at the end of the 18th – beginning of the 19th century.
Triptych with Christ Pantocrator between Saints Olga and Peter
Russian Catholics of the Byzantine rite residing in China donated the small travel triptych depicting the Christ Pantocrator between Saints Olga and Peter to Pope Pius XI on his fiftieth anniversary of priesthood. The frame of the work, made of gilded silver, white enamel, and precious stones, is the work of the excellent Finnish master goldsmith Johan Victor Aarne. During the study, the restorers studied the stamps present on the lower margin of the frame of the work. Thus, they discovered for the first time details inside an oval-shaped stamp. Restorers found the Russian state mark of 1899-1908, which contains the title of the alloy (silver 88), a female profile with diadem turned to the right, and the two superimposed Russian letters, “ЯЛ”(“YaL”), which are the initials of the engineer Yakov Lyapunov, Chief Inspector of the District Office of the Assay in St. Petersburg.
He was also in charge of a laboratory at the same location- also part of the Ministry of Finance – where the quality control of the metal alloy of gold and silver objects intended for trade took place. From documents of the time, restorers know that Lyapunov was in this high office from 1898 to 1904. Summarizing the data from the stamps on the triptych, we can say that Johan Viktor Aarne, goldsmith supplier to the Russian Imperial Court, made the work in his workshop in St. Petersburg between 1899 and 1904.
Finally restorers dismantled the rear wooden covering of the right door to observe the image of a cherub. They could see that the painting was in oil on a metal foil by directly examining the pictorial surface.
Triptych with Deesis
This triptych represents the famous iconographic theme of the Deesis, which, in the center, traditionally depicts Jesus Christ seated on a throne blessing while holding the book of the Gospel. On the left wing is the Virgin, and on the right is Saint John the Baptist. This iconographic theme of Byzantine origin sees both figures facing Christ, who acts in favor of humanity.
During the restoration and the study of the stamps on the frame of the work, the restorers discovered that the triptych is a valuable work of high goldsmith’s art and illuminated painting, made as a travel object of worship by the masters of the famous Moscow factory “Sons of Olovianishnikov.”
There is confirmation of the work’s origin from a stylistic point of view and by the factory’s stamp, written in Russian and present on the back of the central panel. The scientific investigations – carried out for the first time by the Scientific Research Laboratory of the Vatican Museums – showed that the painting is in oil on zinc foil. The restorers analyzed the tituli of the scenes and the texts of the cartouches of the depicted saints during the study. The triptych came to the Museums closed in a wooden box lacquered in black, with a lid painted in oil depicting the monastic complex of the Trinity in Sergiev Passad, near Moscow. At present, the restorers do not know of any documents relating to the occasion of the gift. However, the last study revealed that V. Borisov, a miniaturist painter of the Fedoskino factory, made the box in 1959.
...initial images of the icons pre-restoration...
Five Icons from the Tower of Pope John XXIII
The five icons that are the subject of this restoration project have been displayed in the Tower of Saint Pope John XXIII (located on the western edge of the Vatican property) and enjoyed by a very select number of Popes, visitors and staff. These pre-restoration images provide but a glimpse into the sacred beauty that is about to be unveiled.
Icon with Madonna of Jaroslavl
Icon with Madonna of Kazan
Icon with Madonna of Vladimir
Icon with Christ Pantocrator, Princess Olga and St. Peter
Icon with Triptych of Deesis
... interim report on the icons ...
Updates from the Restoration Laboratory
The mystery of the construction, origins and travels of these icons is being unveiled by the team of expert restorers. The images below show the initial stages of analysis that precedes restoration. Rosanna Giardino and Federica Cecchetti are in charge of the restoration of the pictorial parts and Paolo Zaccagnini from the Metal and Ceramic Restoration Laboratory is in charge of the silver and metal work on the frames. These photos of early work-in-progress are provided courtesy of the Patrons office. Click on any photo to launch a slideshow.
