Restoration of Iconic Objects on the Example of Preserving the Yusupov Palace

Musienko Aleksandra Vladimirovna ORCID: 0000-0001-8785-3943 Specialist, St. Petersburg State Institution "Customer's Directorate" 191023, Russia, Saint Petersburg,Torgovii lane , 2 mus210586@gmail.com Other publications by this author

Akulova Nadezhda Aleksandrovna PhD in Architecture Associate Professor, Department of Reconstruction and Restoration of Architectural Heritage, St. Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering 190005, Russia, Saint Petersburg, 2nd Krasnoarmeyskaya str., 4 naroma@list.ru

Introduction

The experience of preserving cultural heritage objects (hereinafter referred to as OKN) is an urgent topic of the world level.  It reflects the country's system of values, the level of culture, technical capabilities and skills of specialists.

Palaces that embody the power and luxury of an aristocratic society occupy a separate place in the variety of architectural objects. The construction of palace-type structures was based on the desire to publicly demonstrate the welfare of its owner and vividly reflected the priorities of its era ^[1].

One of the iconic representatives of such objects is the Yusupov Palace. The monument has a rich historical and architectural history, reflected in numerous books and monographs, revealing its long construction history, the fate of the owners, the artistic value of the interiors, as well as the historical fact of the murder of G. Rasputin within the walls of the palace.

This palace belongs to the objects of cultural heritage of a high degree of preservation, as it is an architectural landmark that managed to preserve its historical appearance as much as possible after the devastating military operations.  Since the nationalization, the society has appreciated the monument, adapting it to the functions that allowed it to preserve its unique interiors unchanged.

Currently, the palace building houses the "Palace of Culture of Educators, which in the 1990s was formed into a multifunctional historical and cultural center combining educational, sightseeing, exhibition and concert activities" ^[2]. The historical and cultural palace ensemble has both All-Russian significance and European fame. It conceals a rich experience of craftsmen involved in both its construction and preservation.

Repair and restoration activities at the Yusupov Palace, as well as at other historical and cultural monuments, were not independent, but corresponded to the development of restoration practice and the worldview of their time. On the issue of preservation, restoration of architectural objects, and simply recognizing them as a monument of culture and art, Russian society has been progressing. The concept of restoration and its requirements are directly related to the priorities of the generation for a given period of time, as well as technological progress. Not a few mistakes were made in the history of restoration before the realization of the basics came - the possibility of reversibility and minimizing harm to the object of restoration ^[3].

The events of the Great Patriotic War made a significant contribution to the development of restoration in Russia. The consequences of large–scale destruction set the task for specialists in prompt and balanced decisions to achieve the maximum result - the restoration and restoration of lost and dilapidated monuments. During this period, the Leningrad School of Restoration was founded. The so-called "scientific restoration" has been developed, which still serves as the basis for making decisions on the preservation of windows.

The final stage of the restoration of the Palace with six wings was the restoration of 2020 ^[4]. It took place in the rooms of the Princess's private rooms: the Princess's Study (Small white living room), Dressing Room (Porcelain boudoir), Bathroom, Persian (Oriental Boudoir). The types of materials included in the restoration are presented in Table 1.

The basis of the study of repair and restoration works included documentation developed by the contractor and the organization leading the supervision in 2020 of LLC "Renaissance of St. Petersburg", namely repair and restoration projects and scientific and restoration reports. The study compared the main defects and the types of work carried out to eliminate them. According to the reviewed documentation, it can be concluded that not a single element of the decoration was left without attention. Full-scale surveys recorded in detail the condition of all the elements separately and comprehensive conservation measures were carried out for each of them, ranging from surface clean-ups of general contamination and ending with the reconstruction of lost fragments based on iconographic materials.

To visually assess the level of deterioration of the premises, the authors of the article developed a method based on a system analysis in the following interpretation.

The condition of finishing materials is conditionally distributed in three positions. Each is given definitions, including a list of acceptable defects.  In the format of the table, the values were filled in as a percentage. The number of interior elements as a whole (without furniture) is taken for 100%, without taking into account the areas of these elements, since the purpose of the analysis is to determine the prevailing state of these elements. 100% are evenly distributed among the interior elements in an equal percentage. In accordance with the defects of the element, its percentage value was entered into the cell corresponding to its condition (an example of filling is given in Table 1). Reception of the percentage distribution of interior elements based on their number

The following definitions are used as generalizing terms:

Working condition (P) is the general condition of the interior finishing elements, in which there is fragmentary wear, few losses, hair cracks, chips, color distortion and other causes of natural aging.

Limited-operable condition (OP) – the general condition of the interior finishing elements, in which fragmentary deformation of the elements is observed, without the danger of sudden destruction; deep cracks, destruction of layers, loss of fragments of finishing elements, allowing them to be restored according to iconographic materials and preserved analogues in the interior.

Emergency condition (A) – the general condition of the interior finishing elements, in which there are numerous deformations, cracks, chips, wear; losses without the possibility of documented restoration of the element; high risk of destruction of the element.

The considered documentation contains the main defects of walls (and their elements), ceiling (and their elements), door and window fillings (including fittings), floor, window sills, lighting fixtures, fireplaces, radiator grilles. The predominant defects in the studied halls are: general surface contamination, small cracks and chips, divergence of carved decor elements, fragmentary loss of gilding on various surfaces, change in the original plasticity of the stucco decoration, poor-quality vyshparovka backgrounds, dustiness of the damask and weakening of its base, general deterioration of fittings, misalignment of window frames, multi-layered colorful layering, loss of clarity relief, lost fittings and its darkening, scuffs, poorly executed mastications on marble surfaces, attrition of the lacquer layer of parquet (cracks, chips), minor losses on various finishing elements.

According to the description of the main defects of finishing materials in the project documentation, it is possible to assess the level of wear of each of them, however, for a general assessment of the condition of the interior, it is necessary to draw up a comprehensive conclusion. The calculation of the level of total wear of the premises is shown in Figure 1.

According to the results of the performed analysis, it can be concluded that the predominant state of the elements in the considered interior was operable, since the percentage ratio ranges from 62% to 75%. To a lesser extent, the interior elements were in a limited working condition, their percentage ratio in the range from 17% to 38%. Only 8% of the elements were affected by the emergency condition and they were only in the Princess's Office.

The data obtained clearly demonstrate that the reason for the invasion of the monument was aimed at maintaining the appearance of the interiors in all their splendor, namely, creating an imitation, since there was no danger among the defects in terms of bio-damage, reliability and safety of structures. The level of wear of the considered interiors did not violate the possibility of using the premises. The main restoration approach of the repair and restoration works in the Palace with six wings was a holistic approach reflecting the goal of maintaining the appearance of historical interiors and the atmosphere of a noble aristocratic mansion at the time of its highest heyday.

This goal is supported by the regulatory framework for the preservation of cultural heritage objects, which is given in the conclusions of scientific and restoration reports:

"- The work carried out meets the requirements of the current regulatory documents in the field of public buildings and cultural heritage restorations;

- Meets the objectives of preserving the object of cultural heritage of federal significance.

- All actions related to the implementation of the object provide for measures to preserve the object of cultural heritage and its long-term operation."

   In conclusion, it should be noted that the priority of appearance in these measures for the preservation of the monument prevails over the priority of preserving authenticity. Many interventions, perhaps, could be neglected to preserve the "patina of time" and the atmosphere of fading luxury. But it was the careful attitude to the palace, the goal of prolonging the life of the monument and maintaining its operational properties in the most luxurious condition that provided us with the opportunity to contemplate the architect's ideas.

Thus, it can be concluded that the considered experience of the restoration of the Palace with six wings reflects the above-mentioned values for the preservation of iconic WINDOWS.

Table 1

Interior decoration materials included in the restoration

 Table 2

Example of percentage distribution of interior elements

Fig. 1. The general level of deterioration of the premises