After many years of restoration, the Bogolyubsk Icon was shown in Vladimir

The image, destroyed due to improper display in the temple, was not only restored, but also the original painting was discovered

The exhibition “Icon of the 12th century “Our Lady of Bogolyubskaya” opens at the “Chambers” Museum Center of the Vladimir-Suzdal Museum-Reserve. New discovery”, where, after many years of restoration, the ancient image is shown in a separate room with dim lighting and climate control.

The icon with a thousand-year history was transferred to the Vladimir Princess Monastery in the early 1990s. In 2009, it turned out that she was kept in a temple in a non-functional capsule, which is why fungus and mold appeared on it. The restorers of the Grabar Center miraculously saved her. For the first time, you can see the results of their many years of work.

According to legend, the Mother of God herself appeared to Andrei Bogolyubsky, after which he ordered the icon to be painted. She became one of the most revered in Rus’. In Bogolyubovo, a church from the 12th century has been preserved, where it was located for many centuries. From the church there was an exit directly to the chambers of the Grand Duke, where the conspirators killed him.

However, the icon remained in its place until, in 1732, the church ministers decided to make minor repairs and expand the windows. As a result, most of the temple collapsed. The image was buried under the rubble of the Church of Our Lady for several years. When the icon was dug up, it was restored and exhibited in the Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir, covered with a silver frame.

Ancient painting by an unknown master was discovered by Igor Grabar at the beginning of the twentieth century. A long-term restoration began, interrupted by the war and resumed only in the 1950s.

The most difficult test befell the icon at the end of the twentieth century. In the early 1990s, she was transferred to the Princess Monastery and was destroyed there. They simply forgot to turn on the climate-controlled display case and placed flowers and plants nearby. As a result, fungus appeared on it and mold formed. It opened in 2009. Specialists from the Grabar Center, led by Alexander Gormatyuk, miraculously saved her. Moreover, Vladimir did not leave the image. After the completion of the 10-year restoration, the icon was kept in the funds of the Vladimir-Suzdal Museum-Reserve.

The current exhibition begins with the history of its restoration, which lasted a total of one hundred years. On the table in the center of the first hall there is a screen the size of an icon, and it shows how the image has changed since the discovery of Igor Grabar by the expedition until the present day. Next to it is a chronology of restoration over the century. The second hall displays icons created based on Bogolyubskaya, which conveys its significance for the history of icon painting.

In the third hall, viewers will encounter the image itself. No more than 10 people can enter here at a time and for no more than 10-15 minutes. Ideal conditions have been created here – 50% air humidity and temperature – 17-18 degrees. Muffled light. Almost a temple atmosphere.

The exhibition of the Bogolyubsk Icon is important not only for the very fact of displaying an ancient image after many years of restoration. She could become a model of how fragile images should be displayed in order to please both the church and the museum’s conditions. Especially now, when the issue of screening Trinity remains open. It is not known how Rublev’s image feels in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. There are also flowers nearby, and it’s not a fact that the climate-controlled capsule maintains the desired temperature and humidity. Experts are afraid to comment on the situation with the Trinity, but Alexander Gormatyuk, in a conversation with MK, said that for each ancient icon it is necessary to create its own conditions.

Vladimir