Reconstruction of Monumental Painting of the Church on Nereditsa Hill in the City Novgorod the Great: Methodology of Painting and Virtual Reconstruction Combination

Abstract

There are many architectural monuments that cannot be restored due to different reasons, such as difficulty and complexity of the work or lack of information about the object. Saint-Petersburg State University developed a method of restoration of partially or completely lost monumental paintings. New methodology was applied to fresco paintings of the Church Spas-na-Nereditse in the city Novgorod the Great, which were almost completely destroyed during the Second World War. The extant parts consist of 325,000 pieces and its manual restoration is still very far from completion. In the process of virtual reconstruction researchers have used two methods: computer-based reconstruction and analog pictorial reconstruction. The first method provides plausibility, whereas the second method helps us to simulate the ancient process of painting, to convey the artist’s style, reproduce the form, direction and strength of the artist’s touch. The methodology may open new possibilities for the restoration of other fresco ensembles.