The paintings painted by the Greek Theophanes on the Church of the Savior on Ilyin Street in Veliky Novgorod are black and red, almost monochrome. According to art historians, such a palette is not characteristic of the Old Russian fresco master – until now, researchers have not come to a common opinion about the reasons for its appearance. In this regard, the scientists told socialbites.ca that physicists from the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research will determine the true colors of the Greek painting Theophan using neutron activation analysis.
According to physicists, the results of their work will help restorers to accurately restore the original appearance of the frescoes – this will be what the author intended.
“For art historians, this is a real mystery: is it the author’s reclusive palette or the result of environmental influences? To find the answer to this question, we began to examine another monument. In the Novgorod church of Simeon the God Receiver of the Zverin Monastery, only some parts of the images have uncharacteristic colors, for example, a red halo. We did a temperature experiment and compiled a scale of temperature transitions of the primary colors, and now we know which color changes at what temperature. Based on these data, we perform a digital reconstruction of individual fresco parts. “We are now preparing a publication on this subject,” said Andrey Dmitriev, head of the JINR FLNP GNAA.
Research on a fresco depicting the three apostles from the Church of Simeon has shown that under the influence of heat, the yellow ocher turns red within a few minutes. Indeed, the date is in 1471, when III. It states that the church “burned” when Ivan conquered Veliky Novgorod. This may indicate a possible cause of the change in fresco color.
To perform neutron activation analysis, scientists insert a picture sample into a stream of neutrons, and as a result of nuclear reactions, “transformations” occur, which physicists correct with the help of spectrometric equipment.
“Next, we process the captured spectrum and calculate the exact elemental composition. Most of the elements we see are with precision from 1 atom to 1 million. For some, for example gold, the ratio is more accurate – 1 to 1 billion. Based on the elemental composition, we can talk about the materials used: pigments and plasters, ”explained Dmitriev.
Scientists, St. They have already been able to determine the true colors of the frescoes in the Cathedral of St. Novodevichy Convent. Read more about their discoveries material “socialbites.ca”.