Internet and History: Website of the "Rostov Kremlin" Museum-Reserve released the super-resolution images of the Ponikarovsky iconostasis - the monument of the late XV - early XVI centuries

The Rostov Kremlin Museum-Reserve presents the project "Slow Reading. The experience of presenting the most ancient Russian iconostasis in ultra-high quality" – a monument of the late XV – early XVI century - the Ponikarovo iconostasis.

Iconostasis originates from the Ponikarovo village. It is the oldest completely preserved monument of this kind in Russia. It consists of the holy doors and 15 icons.

The customer of the painting, the grand ducal clerk Danilo Mamyrev, was one of the leaders of the Embassy Order. On behalf of the Grand Duke in 1493-1494 he visited Italy, Milan and Venice. The main purpose of the embassy was to invite various craftsmen to serve in Moscow. According to the researchers, Danilo Mamyrev was supposed to meet Leonardo da Vinci in Milan, who at that time presented to the public one of his most grandiose creations – a colossal clay statue of a horse.

Thus, Danilo Mamyrev could see the highest examples of art of his time, was able to identify talented artists. This skill was used during the selection of craftsmen for the manufacture of the iconostasis in his Rostov patrimony of Ponikarovo. The researcher of the monument, A. G. Melnik, notes that the icons belong to the brush of the best Moscow masters of the late XV – early XVI century. The icons of this collection are an example of one of the highest manifestations of Russian art of that time.

Specialists have been studying the Ponikarovsky iconostasis for a long time. It entered the exposition of the "Rostov Kremlin" Museum-Reserve in the 1980s. At the same time, it was out of scientific and public attention. That happened, probably, because Rostov was rather far from Moscow and the museum took no efforts to popularize it. A goal of the project is to bring this rare monument to life through making the super-resolution images of icons and representing these gigapixel photographs on the Internet.

The main subject of the museum exposition is the original. The visitor tries to look at the original in the museum. However, it can be complicated by certain limitations relevant to the safety of the item, security measures, the inability to use special technical means, etc. Very often, the details of the image remain inaccessible for research. Meanwhile, in many cases, the details are necessary for the study of the subject, its attribution, and preservation.

Super-resolution photography allows seeing the smallest details of the image. It turns out that the very process of such detailed research becomes a special aesthetic experience. Also, the super-resolution images provide an opportunity for deep comprehending of the author's style and method of work to the specialist. This approach is similar to the "slow reading" method created by Russian philologists at the beginning of the XX century. This notion became the metaphorical name for the project.

This way of presenting a museum item, of course, can not replace the original. But this is the rare case when virtualization of the object very successfully complements the original. It provides additional opportunities for the viewer and allows obtaining new knowledge and aesthetic experience.

The author and the project manager is Sergey Sazonov.
Photography by Alexander Pakhunov.
Technical support – Artem Baranov.