The history of conservation in The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts

- by N.E.Knorre (1956–1994)

The history of conservation in our museum is rich with examples of selfless work of many generations of art conservators. But it is also a history of the museum collection itself. Its many pieces were brought back to life in conservation workshops of the museum. It was the place where many principles and methods of conservation which in numerous cases became basics of modern conservation science were developed.

V. Sukhov and M. Yukhnevitch were the first conservators in the museum. They started their professional journey solely relying on their own experience. They perfected their skills while working with the museum exponents. It was necessary to find new ways of conserving them, different from the ones of the XIX century with their tendency to 'renovate' or, on the contrary, giving the pieces a 'museum antique' look. The overall level of conservation techniques at that time really limited their options. Thus, what Sukhov and Yukhnevich were able to accomplish was a definite breakthrough in Russian conservation practice.

Vladimir Sukhov came to the museum in 1911. For several months he had worked for free, helping with finishing the building of the Fine Arts Museum. It was the artist's small input in the patriotic act of building a museum in Moscow. Sukhov continued the work that had been started by K. Costmann who painted the plaster casts of famous sculptures to look like bronze. Costmann held his method secret, so Sukhov had to come up with a one of his own, and by doing so he "improved the method of painting plaster"3.

Right before the October revolution and in the first years after it Sukhov alone carried out all the conservation work in the museum: retouching and mending the plaster copies, conservation of bronze, ceramics, marble and wooden sculptures. He was in charge of assembling small sculptures, ancient Egyptian papyri, and Coptic fabrics; he also made first attempts at consolidation of Egyptian limestones. According to Professor B. Turayev who was a senior curator back in 1916, "...art conservator V. Sukhov performed a number of quite valuable and important tasks such as lining and consolidating original Egyptian papyri from Golenishchev's collection. Such tasks before had only been appointed to the most experienced conservators abroad... <...> He used his own camera to take pictures of museum pieces after hours to later turn them into postcards, and by doing that he saved the museum quite a lot of money as there was no need to hire a photographer." 4

During a difficult period of 1919-1924 when the museum building had no heat and was in an overall poor condition the work did not stop. During the cold seasons it was carried out by Sukhov at his own place at Malaya Znamenka and in a makeshift workshop at the museum's Director Professor Giatsyntov's place. M. Yukhnevitch who at the time was a curator-conservator of Rumyantsev museum gallery also had to work from home. During the warm seasons the work would be moved back to the museum where the casts damaged by humidity and plaster falling from the ceiling would be repaired again and again5.

That was the time when state organizations took museum conservation under control. In the period between 1921 and 1925 V. Sukhov together with an art conservator D. Bogoslovsky conserved Fayum portraits6. The museum was making new contacts with research institutions that worked with Egyptian artefacts7. Museum of Anthropology, Institute of Silicate Industry, the Institute of Technology and Forest Institute joined the work. The course of work in the museum shifted from using practical knowledge to science-based conservation.

1924 was the time when a new era in museum life started and it defined further development in conservation of the museum collection. After the difficulties of previous six years the building was gradually repaired. Its collection was completed with pieces from Rumyantsev museum, the State Fund and later the Hermitage. The Department of conservation was created, including the workshops for sculpture and paintings conservation, as well as the molding workshop. This was also the time when two renowned Soviet conservators, V. Yakovlev (1926) and P. Korin (1929) joined the Department.

A new Director of the Museum, Prof. N. Romanov, played an important role in the Departent's development. He became the head of a conservation commission, making important decisions for the Department. The museum conservators also consulted with Grabar's Centre and Tretyakov's Gallery specialists. Igor Grabar became one of the permanent members of the conservation commission in 19288.

I. Grabar, N. Romanov, V. Lazarev, V. Blavatsky, B. Vipper, M. Alpatov, and A. Guber were academics whose influence immensely helped development of the Department. V. Lazarev actively voted for uncovering the original painting on Julio Romano's Fornarina9. V. Blavatsky who was a strict follower of a scientific approach to conservation cleaned a number of antique vases himself. The height of his work was discovering of a red figure amphora by Polygnotus10.

Since the Museum acquired more pieces the amount of conservation work also increased. Conservation of Aphrodite's marble torso from Khvoschinsky's collection in 1924-1925 by V. Sukhov and M. Rodionov was the most remarkable one11.

Mark Yukhnevitch, an oil paintings conservator, started his work at the museum in 1924. He began his career in 1900 as a conservator at Rumyancev Museum after studying in the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture and in Professor Fernand Cormon's workshop in Paris. His travels allowed him to learn different conservation techniques in museums of Germany, France and England. He was one of the first specialists in Russia who systematically used "Pettenkofer's method" to lighten paintings (varnish regeneration with alcohol fumes)12. He worked in Rumyantsev and the Fine Arts Museums while being gravely ill in 1924-1929, and during that time he restored a large number of paintings many of which are now exhibited in the Museum; among them are Training the Magpie and The Nuns' Meal by Alessandro Magnasco, The Holy Family by Paris Bordone, Battle of Poltava by Jean-Marc Nattier. N Romanov noted the science base of the conservator's work: "M. Yukhnevitch has never tried to renovate an old painting, but rather conserve it and return it to its original state on occasions when a painting in question was tarnished by later inpaintings. These principles correspond to the museum's mission to study and keep the masterpieces safe13".

Although Vassily Yakovlev's work in the Department of conservation was not long (1926-1932), he left his mark as an incredibly bright and talented art conservator. His deep knowledge of classical European art obtained during his years as a student, a teacher, a conservator and especially an artist and copyist in many European museums14 allowed him to become a true expert in the old masters' techniques. He could brilliantly imitate styles of old paintings and being a quite humorous person enjoyed pranking museum workers with his imitations. Science-based conservation treatments, individual approach to pieces, as well as the problems of teaching young art conservators: Yakovlev addressed all those issues in his articles and used these principles in his work15.

Among the paintings conserved by Yakovlev there are such remarkable pieces as Death of Dido by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, St Jerome by Palma il Giovane, Hercules and Omphale by Boucher, The Mocking of Christ by Jan Mostaert and Baptism by Cornelis van Haarlem. Significant details previously hidden under inpaintings were found during conservation of the latter two16. Yakovlev also took part in the first stages of conservation of Fornarina by Giulio Romano.

In 1927 a Grabar's Centre conservation commission decided that it was necessary to reline two paintings: Alexander Before the Body of Darius by Francesco Guardi and Ahasuerus, Haman and Esther by Rembrandt17. Guardi's painting had been previously conserved but its condition required more serious treatments which were eventually performed by D. Bogoslovski, M. Yukhnevitch and V. Yakovlv. In 1932-1933 a yellowed varnish was removed from the surface together with inpaintings, and retouches were added18.

Repeating treatments is not a rare case in museum conservation, as some pieces tend to get 'ill' for different reasons and have tendencies to decay. One of our masterpieces Ahasuerus, Haman and Esther by Rembrandt is a good example. When the painting got to the museum it had already undergone three serious conservation treatments. The latest one of them was made in 1902 by a German conservator Hauser and unfortunately ended up being especially harmful. The wax added to the backing ground caused its separation from the canvas and led to blistering of the paint layer. That's why V. Yakovlev and M. Yukhnevich had to reline the painting19. After the procedure it had remained fine for two decades, however, in 1950s P. Korin noticed reappearance of blistering20.

In the beginning of 1970s this process took a threatening nature. Another conservation treatment was performed by S. Tchurakov. A student of P. Korin, Stephan Tchurakov took part in conservation of Jordaens' Satyr Visiting a Peasant in 1931-1933. It had undergone smaller treatments many times before, but only the later conservation freed it of inpaintings and returned it to its original look21.

Pavel Korin is truly an era in the Department of conservation's history. He gave it thirty years of his life. Two of his callings - an artist and a conservator- were merged in his work. High standards for technique that he held in his own works reflected in conservation treatments that he performed with care and respect for the priceless pieces. Precise choices of means and methods of conservation made Korin's work a true perfection. His authority was indisputable and his role in development of Soviet conservation immense. He was a silent type and sometimes seemed closed, but he was a man of a great creative energy expressed in his work. Everything Korin did, his very image whether he was attending to a painting with a scalpel and a magnifying glass or standing by an easel with his palette and brushes radiated pure artistry rooted in his culture, talent and skill. The paintings conserved by Korin or under his tutelage could make a whole gallery collection; from famous Fornarina to Titian's Cristo Della Moneta. Between these works there were Portrait of a Lady by a Flemish master of the XVII century, Portrait of Cardinal Pallavicini by Sebastiano del Piombo, Exit of a Squadron, which turned out to be Bellevois' signature work, Portrait of Pope Pius V attributed to Pulzone after conservation and many others.

In 1930 the Department was preoccupied with conservation of the pieces from the collections of the Fine Arts Museum and the State Museum of New Western Art. Besides that, pieces which were about to be transferred to provincial museums as a part of a progressing cultural program in the country also had to be treated. Numerous exhibitions added work to the Department as well. At that time conservators S. Uranova, N. Peshkhova and I. Blavatskaya worked at the Department.

In 1933 the Sculpture conservation workshop got a new employee, M. Alexandrovski, who ended up working in the museum for 45 years. The field of his expertise was quite large, covering all types of sculptures and applied arts. He experimented with creating new methods of metal cleaning, creating adhesives and conserving limestones in collaboration with Grabar's Centre. His experience made him a renowned figure in Soviet and foreign conservation.

The museum played a significant role in development of graphics conservation in the Soviet Union. In 1925 V. Nevizhina went to Berlin to study methods of conservation and storage of graphic works22. 1927 was the year when specialists of the Kupferstichkabinett in Berlin began working with graphics for the first time.

V. Krylova who was also trained in Germany23 was the first conservator to perform montage and conservation of prints and drawings using the most advanced techniques for the time24. In 1930s a young photo laboratory employee E. Kostikova took interest in Krylova's work. She helped Krylova in her spare time and learned graphics conservation. The war put an end to those lessons. But in 1948 Kostikova was invited to work at Grabar's Centre. She founded a Graphics conservation department there and turned it into a higher school of conservation that is now well known both in our country and abroad.

With the beginning of the World War II the museum faced a challenge of saving its collections. On the second day of the war the most precious paintings were moved for safekeeping25. In two weeks the museum got orders to evacuate its collections; thus started a hard work on packing and transporting the pieces. Art conservators worked together with curators up to fifteen hours a day. In ten days all the pieces that had to be evacuated were ready to be transported. M. Alexandrovsky was appointed an attendant and keeper of large art pieces from the country's biggest museums. 267 000 pieces were left in the museum for safekeeping, and this task was incredibly difficult26. They had to be protected from destruction as the building where they were kept was affected by a bomb explosion nearby. Mr. and Mrs. Korin, E. Bolotnikova, K. Barischnikov and V. Krylova were fighting to keep the paintings, sculptures and artifacts of Ancient Egypt from the cold, humidity and mold. Thousands of pieces, at times very heavy, were transferred from one room to another to at least somewhat protect them from humidity. Hundreds of paintings were dried outside at the main porch in the summer to kill the mold with sunrays. Egyptian limestone pieces were placed in a heated protective construction. M. Alexandrovsky came from Novosibirsk to Moscow in 1943 to organize safekeeping for ancient artifacts.

Despite the large amount of work due to the extreme conditions of wartime, conservation treatments (albeit in much lesser amounts) continued to be performed in the Department. P. Korin and his wife Praskovia, who was an experienced museum worker, performed complex conservation treatments of paintings27. They were doing everything in their powers to keep the masterpieces safe, and they did win that battle.

The selfless work of conservators during the war was continued in the post-war years. The job was to conserve masterpieces transported from the destroyed cities of Germany and Poland, and it was colossal. S. Tchurakov was one of the people appointed to transfer rescued paintings from the Dresden Gallery. He was responsible for packing and transporting the pieces. Mr. and Mrs. Korin were the ones who truly saved the Dresden masterpieces from being completely destroyed. B. Shakhov who provided equipment for the workshop (some of it is still being used now) helped them with that quest. Many works of graphics were cleaned of soot, dirt and mold and prepared to be transferred back to Germany and Poland by E. Nechyaeva and N. Knorre. Thousands of applied arts objects were conserved by M. Alexandrovski, E. Bolotnikova and N. Trofimov before being shipped back to Germany.

Nikolai Trofimov was loved by anyone who had ever met him. He was a true talent, a real 'wizard' of conservation, performing miracles, turnings shapeless pieces covered in rust and dirt into tiny silver coins with detailed ornaments on them. This kind of miracle happened to a bracteates treasure from the numismatic collection of the museum28.

Conservation of the pieces from the museum collection had never stopped. It reached its peak in the mid-50s. Research was carries out together with practical treatments. M. Alexandrovski and I. Kasyanenko worked with electroforming, glass treatments, limestone and clay tablets conservation, as well as new at the time issue of using polymeric materials in conservation. An interesting method of filling losses was developed in the Graphics conservation workshop29. V. Zinovyeva, an oil paintings conservator, research wax finishes on Gauguin's paintings.

In the end of the 1950s – beginning of the 1960s the staff of the Department of conservation was renewed. S. Tchuracov became the new head of the Department. It is worth to mention several experienced conservators who worked at the Department at different times: G. Yerokhva, A. Serkov, N. Schladkova, A.Serpiev. The latter conserved a beautiful Renaissance cabinet and other furniture pieces exhibited in the Museum today. We are also grateful for the work of T. Kasatkina, a photographer, who had documented conservation processes in the Museum for many years.

Nowadays the bar has been raised really high, conservation requirements increased immensely. New materials and methods of research are being used more widely by conservators. The Pushkin State Museum works together with leading conservation institutions such as All-Union Research Institute for Conservation and All-Union Grabar's Centre for Conservation. Issues of correct storing of art pieces due to an active exhibition work, improving scientific expertise due to the growth of our collections, new technologies and materials propose new challenges for the Department of conservation. Advances in science and technology make it possible to solve old problems that despite many attempts in the past remain unsolved, such as conservation of limestone and clay cuneiform tablets. Time demands us to constantly improve and renew our research and technical equipment. One of the results of that is a new X-ray laboratory that significantly increased our abilities in research and conservation.

Notes:

1. АрхивГМИИ, отчет Музея изящных искусств при Московском университете за 1912 г. л. 7
2. 5, 4, ед. хр. 304 л.5
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid., p. 3
5. Ibid., отчет по художественно-редакционному отделу за 1923 г. л. 68
6. Ibid., отчет о работе музея за 1924 г., л. 26. Сухов В.Д. О реставрации фаюмских портретов. – Жизнь музея, 1926, № 2, с. 24
7. Отчет о работе музея за 1922 г. л. 61
8. 5, 1, ед. хр. 765 л.8, 25
9. Ibid., 575, 576 . Протокол заседания реставрационного совета от 21.01.1931 г.
10. Блаватский В. Расчистка античных ваз в ГМИИ. Жизнь музея, 1930, август, с. 45
11. Щербаков Н. Мраморный торс «Афродиты» Хвощинского. – Там же, 1925, № 1, с. 23
12. 5, 4, е.х. 14-10
13. Ibid.
14. Е.х. 3
15. Яковлев В.Н. К реставрации «Форнарины» Джулио Романо. – Жизнь музея. 1930, август, с. 68-76
16. Романов Н.И. ... Жизнь музея. 1930, август, с. 72-76
17. 5, 1, е.х. 684 л.9
18. Ibid.е.х. 575, 576. Протокол от 29.01.1933 г.
19. 5, 4, е.х. 14-10
20. 5, 1, е.х. 2495.21
21. Ibid.е.х. 575, 576. Протокол от. 4.02.1934
22. Ibid., отчет о работе музея за 1925. л. 54
23. Ibid., отчет о работе музея за 1927. л. 121
24. 5, 1, е.х. 1710. Л. 9
25. Ibid. Пояснительная к отчету за 1943 г.
26. 5, 1. Е.х. 1710, л. 11.28
27. Ibid. Е.х. 1998, л. 5-6. Протокол от 01.09.1955
28. Кнорре Н.М. .......... Сообщение ВЦНИЛКР. Графика. Ч. 2. М., 1960 . с. 47-48