Curved boards and cracks: the dangers of transporting Rublev’s “Trinity” to churches are named
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How to share a shrine
The President of the country decided to return Andrei Rublev’s “Trinity” to the Russian Orthodox Church – the image will be exhibited for a year in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior (according to the latest information, this will happen on June 4), and then it will go to the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. The decree caused a storm of emotions in the museum community, which has long feared for the safety of the 15th-century monument, whose condition leaves much to be desired. But, as Mikhail Piotrovsky put it (albeit about the 17th-century sarcophagus with the relics of Alexander Nevsky, which will be transferred from the Hermitage to the Alexander Nevsky Lavra): “At this geopolitical moment … the sacred significance of the monument is more important than its artistic value.” “MK” step by step sorted out the nuances associated with the difficulties of moving the monument.
From a technical point of view, the famous Old Testament plot was created in the tradition that icon painters still adhere to today. The icon is based on three linden boards, which are fastened with fish glue and connected with wood veneers (on the reverse side). For more than 600 years, the boards began to diverge, now they are mobile. As early as 1929, when the icon arrived at the State Tretyakov Gallery, it was recorded that the middle dowel of “Trinity” “rests with its wide end against the edge of the first board and prevents the base boards from coming together completely.” In 1931, the restorer Alexander Kirikov cut off the protruding end that interfered with the convergence of the boards. But the problem remains, and this is one of the chronic “diseases” of the monument, which requires careful control. The restorers tried to tighten the boards, but they couldn’t fix the problem – the gap between the boards reaches 1.5 cm. Linden is most often used as the basis for the icon, because, according to experts, of all types of wood, it is the most sculptural and less prone to deformation. But in the heat and dryness, the linden gives off moisture, and the boards can “float”. The ideal conditions for the icon are high humidity (65–70%) and coolness (temperature 16–18 degrees).
Other problems of the “Trinity” are cracks and the departure of the canvas. The technology for creating the icon is as follows: a linen cloth (pavoloka) is applied to a polished wooden base, which is primed with a mixture of chalk and protein (gesso), the image is painted on top with tempera paints (a mixture of yolk and pigments). So, over time, in some places, the Trinity canvas was lost. There is a large crack on the front side of the shrine (both in the fabric base and, accordingly, in the paint layer), its length is more than 100 cm. Vasily Guryanov fixed this problem when he arrived at the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, found an image blackened from centuries of candle soot, first cleared it, and then refurbished it (at that time, restoration science was just in its infancy, and it was born largely due to the study of the Trinity, but we will not dwell on all the adventures of the Trinity). Now it is important that this large crack is one of the most acute problems, which also remains chronic. There are others. After all the recordings and cleanings, shedding of the paint layer and other troubles caused by time, 20 percent, or even less, remained of the original Rublev painting of the Trinity. Time does not spare the ancient icon; only the right conditions will make it possible to preserve the shrine, recognized as a masterpiece of world significance.
Before starting to collect the icon on the road, the museum must sign an agreement with the Russian Orthodox Church, the Cathedral of Christ the Savior and the Lavra. Approximately the same that Mikhail Piotrovsky signed on May 10 with the Nevsky Lavra on the issuance of the Nevsky shrine. The fact is that according to the law “On the Museum Fund of the Russian Federation and museums in the Russian Federation”, the museum collection is indivisible, that is, the icon must remain museum property, which means it must be in the area of responsibility of the Tretyakov Gallery. Just as the Nevsky reliquary remained in the area of responsibility of the Hermitage: the agreement signed by Piotrovsky clearly outlines the conditions for ensuring the safety of the sarcophagus. For the icon, all the conditions of transportation and its existence must be documented. “Trinity” can be transported only on special vehicles, with minimal vibration. In the temple itself, a special showcase with temperature and humidity conditions should be installed. Whether the one in the museum can be used is not clear, nor is it possible to make a new one. As Elena Saenkova, head of the department of ancient Russian painting at the State Tretyakov Gallery, told MK, they only do this in Italy and Germany. But due to the geopolitical situation, ordering this will not work. So, it is necessary to replace imports – this is time and money. Who will bear this financial burden is a separate question. The Cathedral of Christ the Savior is on the balance sheet of Moscow, so it is possible that the burden will fall on the city. It remains to be seen who and how will check the condition of the monument, and this should be done regularly. In theory, this should be done by the custodian of the icon (each museum exhibit is assigned to a specific employee).
There are many questions, but we have an obvious precedent. Firstly, since the Trinity and the shrine are ready to be handed over to the Russian Orthodox Church, this may be followed by a large campaign to return museum exhibits related to a religious cult to churches. That is, in the near future, perhaps, politicians will return to the consideration of the bill on the transfer of church property, which was discussed in the Duma back in the fall. Secondly, the regulations and conditions for the transfer of exceptional objects, which is also the “Trinity” should be formulated and formalized; which means that someone has to control it, and not just somehow, but at the level. Otherwise, such a radical step as the removal of the “Trinity” from the museum, where she lived in “greenhouse conditions” for the last hundred years, will turn into a disaster, which will definitely not add either religious or patriotic feelings.
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How to share a shrine
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