History of conservation of paintings in the Venerable Onuphrius Orthodox Church in Posada Rybotycka

In May 1966 the conservation workshop of the Museum of Folk Architecture in Sanok under the guidance of Wojciech Kurpik started to examine the recently discovered Ruthenian paintings in the Venerable Onuphrius Orthodox Church in Posada Rybotycka. Uncovering and conservation works were continued in the summer of 1966 and in the autumn of 1967. Large parts of paintings were uncovered, the composition scheme was identified, the technique was determined as a mixed fresco 6c tempera technique, and even the paintings time of creation (16th century) was identified. Traces of two major renovations were also discovered. Significant stylistic differences between paintings in the presbytery and in the aisle were noticed. It was determined that, apart from mechanical reasons, the main causes of destruction of the paintings were the humidification of walls caused by the destruction of the roof and the use of organic binder, which had been decomposed by microorganisms and the powdered paint had dropped off the primer. The discovery and identification of inscriptions scratched in plaster on the vestibule walls was a matter of key importance. These are mainly names and year dates, e.g. the oldest dates: 1501 and 1506, which suggest that the time of erection of the Orthodox church should be shifted at least to the 15th century. At the same time, archaeological research was carried out around the church and in the church hill, and anthropological research was carried out at the church cemetery. Wojciech Kurpik finished his work in October 1967 and further research was to lie continued by the Historic Object Conservation Workshop in Krakow under the direction of Władysław Zalewski; however, documents contain no records that would prove the undertaking of any further polychrome- -related works. In 1977 the Orthodox church was taken over by the District Museum in Przemyśl. In the years 1983-1985 conservation works were carried out by Plastyka, a Warsaw-based company, under the direction of Małgorzata Wesołowska-Nowosielska. At that time, polychrome was uncovered, partly cleaned and secured in the entire church; the missing plaster was supplemented with lime mortar in the presbytery, and lime 6c sand trims were installed in the aisle. In 1884 Dr Janusz Lehmann carried out stratigraphie and laboratory research. The structure, mineral and chemical constitution of the plaster layer, which paint layers were placed on, is similar to those used in Europe in Renaissance times, but the technique is consistent with the late Byzantine tradition and paintings of south-eastern Orthodox Europe. In 1986 Małgorzata Wesołowska-Nowosielska included results of conservation works in her doctoral dissertation presented at the Academy of bine Arts in Warsaw. The paintings did not constitute the primary decoration of the church interior. The walls were originally covered with a double layer of zinc white, which was only later covered with polychrome. The same original plaster covers all church walls, the vault and both sides of the templon, which indicates that it had been present since the very beginning. The mineral composition ol the plaster is not consistent with the tradition of Byzantine- -Ruthenian painting. This means that craftsmen laying the brown coat represented local techniques rather than eastern or southern techniques. Conservation works were continued in the years 1986-1988 under the direction of Barbara Kaniewska. At that time, frescos in the presbytery were cleaned thoroughly, cement 6c lime patches were removed, and the missing plaster was supplemented. Finally, retouching works were performed for consolidation purposes. Conservation works were closed in 1991, when Józef Steciriski completed the protection of painting residues over the church vestibule. Additionally, the passage leading from the inside of the main church aisle was reconstructed and stone stairs leading to it from the outside were demolished. Uncovering and conservation works that were finished towards the end of the 1980s were not continued later. Scaffolds in the aisle are the only things left of them