Moscow, February 11, 2020
Photo: TASS
Work on restoring the frescoes in the iconic 15th-century Dormition Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin has been underway since 2017 and is slated to continue until 2023.
In addition to restoring known paintings, new sections of ancient frescoes have also been discovered during the work, Elena Gagarina, General Director of the Moscow Kremlin Museums, said at a news conference on Wednesday, February 5, reports TASS.
“Now we have started the full restoration of the frescoes, and we made a number of important discoveries,” Gagarina said. “New sections of the wall paintings were found in the altar space, in particular in the Praise side altar. They are the lower parts of the ‘Synaxis of the Mother of God’ and ‘Nativity of St. John the Forerunner’ compositions, and two new figures belonging to the ‘Praise of the Mother of God’ composition.”
Photo: TASS
“These frescoes were created almost a century and a half before the main extant ensemble of wall paintings, created by decree of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov in 1643. During the 20th century, the frescoes were repeatedly restored … and put in order, but, unfortunately, for such ancient monuments, time is inexorable. 40 years have passed since the last restoration, and unpleasant things like dust and soot were observed on the surface of the wall paintings,” Gagarina explained.
Very few frescoes from the late 15th-early 16th centuries have survived in Russia, therefore, the frescoes of the Dormition Cathedral are very important and highly valued.
Earlier, OrthoChristian reported that Russian oil company Transneft will allocate $5,639,400 (360 million rubles) to the cathedral’s restoration as part of its cooperation agreement with the Moscow Kremlin Museums.
