Results of the research of four Deisis icons from the Nilo-Sorsky monastery. On the question of attribution and technological features

In 2023 – 2024, the restoration of four 17th century icons from the collection of the Kirillo-Belozersky State Historical Architectural and Art museum-reserve was carried out at the Department of Restoration of Saint Tikhon’s Orthodox University for the Humanities (Moscow). The icons are “Archangel Gabriel”, “Apostle Paul”, “St. John Chrysostom” and “St. Ephraim the Syrian”. The restored works of art are a part of the full-figured Deesis range of the iconostasis originating from the Nilo-Sorsky Monastery (in the past widely known and revered in the Russian North). The special value of the icons lies in the fact that they form a relatively complete ensemble among the few and disparate items of early decoration of above-mentioned monastery that have survived to present day. The article presents the results of the study of the origin and history of the icons of the Nilo-Sorsky Monastery and confirms the attribution previously proposed by the researcher E. V. Romanenko. According to the documents of the monastery we are dealing with the Deesis Range painted “na prazeleni” (on a green background) by the icon-painter Gregory in the middle of the 17th century. It is also known that this Deesis was painted for the wooden church of St. John the Baptist, built over the tomb of the founder of the monastery, St. Nil. During the restoration process, the technological features of the icons were studied: 1) the painting surface of the artworks was examined under a binocular microscope; 2) X-ray and IR radiography of the icons were performed; 3) microsamples of the paints were taken to determine their pigment composition. The results of this research extend our knowledge of the materials and artistic techniques used by icon painters of the Russian North in the 17th century.