UWO of Canada Rescues 17^th Century Icon

Impression of Christ Our Saviour

This Easter, the Ukrainian Women’s Organization of Canada (UWO), Toronto Branch, is sponsoring the restoration of a 17^th century icon from the collection of the Andrey Sheptytsky National Museum in Lviv. The icon known in Ukrainian as “Spas Nerukotvorny” depicts two angels holding a cloth impression of Christ Our Saviour. Measuring 72 x 43 centimetres, the icon may be known as either the “Veil of Veronica” to Catholic Christians or the “Holy Mandylion” to Orthodox Christians.

“The icon is found beneath another layer, and requires full recovery” says Maria Helitovych, icon curator at the museum. “Restoration of the entire piece is possible… it will be an excellent example for a monographic study, a catalogue of Ukrainian icons, as well as an exhibit in the near future.”

The icon comes from the Dormition Church in the Village of Mihova, Starosambirsky Region in Lviv Oblast. In 1966, it was brought to the Andrey Sheptytsky Art Foundation from the exposition of renowned scholars Vera Svientsitsky, Mykola Batoha and Petro Linynsky. Established in 1905 by Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky, the art foundation has since become the National Museum in Lviv, and in 2005 it was renamed the Andrey Sheptytsky National Museum.

“Most sacred artifacts from the Andrey Sheptytsky National Museum predate emigration. When you think about it, the history of these treasures is as much part of us as they are part of native Ukrainians” says Stacey Suessmuth, Toronto Branch President of the Ukrainian Women’s Organization of Canada. “Establishing ties with the National Museum – an immense educational and cultural resource – is in our mutual interest”.

While a few token artifacts were restored during the Soviet era, countless icons were hidden from authorities in vacant monasteries and churches, where they progressively deteriorated from harsh humidity, wood-worm and mold. Since the independence of Ukraine in 1991, recovery resumed with little if any financial resource. The iconostas of the Maniavsky Monastery is an example of an artifact that received periodic funding and was eventually restored over a period of a decade. It is a Baroque masterpiece still awaiting public display, though it is featured in the recent film “A Kingdom Reborn: Treasures from Ukrainian Galicia”.

The museum has since stepped up its restoration efforts, employing over 40 specialists and students who keep current with leading conservation institutions in Europe. Recent advances in this field include better forensic imaging, higher-resolution microscopy, and state-of-the-art pigmentation analysis - all to establish a more thorough physio-chemical profile of the artifact.

“Conservation is a science”, says Ihor Kozhan, Director of the National Museum in Lviv, who was in Toronto recently to receive the donated art collection of Halyna Horiun Levytsky on behalf of the museum. “It is not the job of a specialist to improvise on the original artist’s vision” he says. “If there is a missing piece or figure as a result of damage, the restoration specialist will not replace it.”

Most icon artifacts require careful resurfacing, specifically, the removal of a native oxide layer and subsequent re-oxidation with a preservative. Other cases are more complex and may call for the separation of a sublayer of artwork. For example, a piecewise separation technique was used for a recently restored icon from Isayiv, where a 14^th century icon of St. Paraskeva and Her Life was recovered beneath a 17^th century image.

Five more icons from the Andrey Sheptytsky National Museum will be restored along with the Nerukotvorny obraz as part of a restoration program called “6 ICONS Project” created by the producers of “A Kingdom Reborn”. The producers encourage community organizations and church groups to sponsor only two more of the remaining large, sacred masterpieces from this project. Icon sponsors will participate in the unveiling of their sponsored piece at the Andrey Sheptytsky National Museum over the next 1-3 years. It will be a good reason to go to Ukraine and see something positive. Those interested in sponsoring an icon may write to 1253productions@gmail.com.