The conservation of the icon of Saint Nicholas took place in the Laboratories of Benaki Museum, as part of the exhibition titled Hand of Angelos: An icon-painter in Venetian Crete, organized by the Benaki Museum in 2010. The icon belongs to a private collection in Kerkyra and is composed of the main scene with saint Nicholas painted by Angelos, and eight scenes of his life, right and left, added later by Damaskinos.
The icon is surrounded by a wide ‘cassetta’-type frame. Interestingly, the board of the initial icon is joined with the two posterior side boards that depict scenes from the saint’s life with the use of battens and nails. The condition of the painted surface was very good, with the exception of a very intense oxidation of the varnishes.
The most important step in the process to restore the actual work of the two painters was the gradual removal of the oxidized varnishes, during which the initial varnish by Angelos was revealed.
This important discovery led us to investigate further the materials used by the painters with the use of physicochemical techniques. Dr. Sofia Sotiropoulou worked on Angelos’ initial varnish, while Alexandros Konstantas worked on posterior varnishes and pigments. The initial varnish was found to contain sandarac mixed with egg white, while shellac is dominant in the other varnishes.
