Experts doubted that “Zvenigorodsky chin” wrote Andrei Rublev
After researching one of the first masterpieces of old Russian painting — “Zvenigorod” Andrei Rublev — the authorship of Rublev is questioned.
These are the results of numerous studies of the surface of the icon which was able to identify and analyze author techniques techniques of applying paint and drawing the original figure and compare them with the recent results of a similar study of the “Holy Trinity” Rublev.
The study was conducted by employees of the Tretyakov gallery and the State research Institute of restoration within two years led to the newest and costliest (as stressed by the Director of the Museum Zelfira Tregulova) equipment.
As a result of studies made some critical assumptions that while, as emphasized in the Museum, cannot be considered final. Although conducted last week “the Round table” the majority of specialists on ancient art found them convincing.
The main assumption concerns the authorship of “Zvenigorod”.
The differences “almost all elements making up the individual style of the authors” (the words of the press announcement of the gallery) with three icons and the “Holy Trinity” and the fact that they were written with a time difference of a quarter-century (1400, 1425-1427 years) does not allow to consider them the work of one author.
Furthermore, according to conducted the study research staff of the Tretyakov gallery Levon Nersesyan and Sofia Sverdlova, on the basis of obtained data we can assume that the Central image of “Christ Pantocrator” is written more Mature master than the “Archangel Michael” and “Paul”. They also suggest that the author of “Zvenigorod”, “on the basis of stylistic and technological features of icons” could be the painter of “Byzantine-Russian” circle of the Moscow icon painters.
On the question of “Vedomosti” whether the changed note under “Zvenigorodsky chin”, one of the most admired exhibits of the Tretyakov gallery, Zelfira Tregulova said that up until this far, we should wait until the end of the research, the publication of the results (it is planned for the end of the year) and the attribution decision of the Board.
It is worth reminding that no accurate data on the wizard who wrote the Zvenigorod icons not found. Blame Andrei Rublev was established by Igor Grabar on the basis of their stylistic and typological comparisons with “the Holy Trinity” paintings of the assumption Cathedral in Vladimir, what scientist made the publication in 1926.
The icon was transferred in the all-Russian restoration Commission was cleared in 1918-1919. Since the authorship of Rublev was recognized, although some researchers believed that since the Zvenigorod icons is a Mature and sophisticated work, it could not be written long before the “Holy Trinity” as a young painter, and on this basis dated them for a later time.
The origin of icons has long been a subject of debate. Today, however, it is not contested that “Christ Pantocrator”, “the Archangel Michael” and “Paul” was written for devyatogo the Deesis tier of the iconostasis in Zvenigorod assumption Cathedral on the Town to his discovery in the year 1400.