Substrates and preparation layers under the wall paintings of the St George’s Cathedral (1119 CE) at Veliki Novgorod

ABSTRACT

The Cathedral of St. George is located in the Yuriev Monastery, in Novgorod, one of the capitals of ancient Rus (The Great Novgorod). The wall paintings were completed around 1120 CE. The Cathedral or its parts were renovated in different periods. The fragments of the twelfth-century frescoes were deposited under the new floor and in the area around the Cathedral. Archaeological excavations of the Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow brought to light a large number of fragments of frescoes. The Laboratory for Architectural Archaeology and Multidisciplinary Methods in Architectural Research of the Institute began to study the fragments in 2021 and presents here the first results of the research on substrate and preparation layers of the paintings. Our aim was tdistinguishing the different phases of the wall paintings. The plasters used in the twelfth century are different from the later ones and contain different aggregates.

KEYWORDS:

• Frescoes
• cathedral
• Novgorod
• substrates
• mortar
• aggregates
• pigments
• underpaint

Acknowledgements

This research was carried out within the state assignment of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation. Theme: ‘Pre-Mongol frescoes in Novgorod: archaeological context and scientific research: The frescoes of the St.George’s Cathedral, Yuriev Monastery, 2013–2020 excavations’. Agreement N°075-15-2021-576.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Russian Academy of Sciences Moscow [grant number 075-15-2021-576].