Conservation and Attribution of the Early 18th Century Icon “St. Apostle Philip” from the Bonevychi Village (Lviv Region, Ukraine) using the Technique of Separation of Easel Painting

Abstract

The article studies the process of separation of the two layers of painting of the icon “St. Apostle Philip”, which is kept in the church in the Bonevychi village (Sambir district, Lviv region, Ukraine). The expediency of using the chemical method of separation for these work and similar ones, according to the state of preservation and technique of execution, is substantiated. The study shows that the upper layer of the icon was made in the late 19th – early 20th centuries in the technique of oil painting on top of the new gesso (levkas). The original painting of the icon was done in the technique of tempera with the use of silvering and engraving on the background. When studying the manner of painting of the original layer of the icon and based on archival documents about the church in Bonevychi, it was found that first image was painted in the early 18th century to the newly built in 1702 wooden church in Bonevychi. The manner of painting shows that the author of the original icon was a master from the center of church art in the town of Rybotychi (now a village in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship (Województwo podkarpackie) of Poland).