Updates
20. June 2025.
We healed Đuro Jakšić
When the icon “St. Prophet Daniel and St. Apostle and Evangelist Marko”, by Đuro Jakšić from the Diocese of Šumadija, arrived at the conservation workshop of the Provincial Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments, it had obvious structural problems. The accompanying gilded decorative frame was damaged in the form of missing ornaments at the corners and the outer braid. The wooden support had a crack along its entire length, at the junction of the sides. The painted layer was found under a heavy, almost opaque patina, through which traces of previous, inappropriate restorations in the form of coatings and overpaintings could be seen. The restoration of this icon was preceded by extensive examinations to determine the condition and type of materials used – both original and those used in previous interventions. The examinations included thorough multispectral imaging in the visible and invisible spectrum (VIS, UVF and IRR) as well as X-ray and physicochemical analyses to characterize the materials. The restoration itself was structural in nature, encompassing the rehabilitation of the wooden support, cleaning of the paint layer on several levels (removal of surface impurities, patinated varnishes and inappropriate retouches), sealing and retouching of damage, and protective varnishing. The decorative frame was also completely restored. The works were accompanied by detailed photo and textual documentation. This is what the icon of Đuro Jakšić looks like after our treatment: Photography: Maria Erdelji
