Professionals from Moscow and St. Petersburg are holding master classes for future restorers at KBSU

Practical classes have resumed at the KBSU as part of the educational project «Touching History.» Professional restorers Irina Vladimirova from the State Historical Museum of Moscow and Yuri Zhurbenko from the St. Petersburg Academy of Restoration and Design have come to Nalchik for the second time. Their master classes for students majoring in «Restoration» have become an important part of the educational process at KBSU’s College of Design.

Third- and fourth-year students, under the guidance of Irina Vladimirova, are striving to recreate the original appearance of the painting «The Horseman,» which is housed in the collection of the Kabardino-Balkarian Museum of Fine Arts. Work on the painting began in the spring, during the specialists’ first visit. Under a layer of old varnish, the monogram «Zh.R.» and the date «1854» were discovered. This discovery transformed the restoration into a fascinating historical study and led to the hypothesis that the painting may depict a participant in the Russo-Turkish War. The identity of the artist remains a mystery.

«During our last visit, we performed technical restoration: we reinforced the paint layer and primer, and repaired the holes,» explains Irina Vladimirova. «Now we’re moving on to the most delicate stage—painterly restoration. It’s important for students to learn how to work with paints, which change their properties over time.»
In the neighboring workshop, Yuri Zhurbenko works with second-year students on restoring wooden artifacts. «My task is to teach students the basics of furniture restoration: how to properly clean the surface and restore lost fragments,» the specialist explains. «I try to share with the students practical ‘secrets’ that you won’t find in textbooks. For example, how to work with small parts for which standard tools are not suitable.»

The Restoration major is one of the newest at KBSU. Its creation several years ago was a response to a shortage of professional personnel in the region.

«The main challenge was creating an educational environment,» comments Alim Kanloev, Director of the KBSU College of Design. «There were no specialists in the field in the republic, so we initially focused on attracting the best practitioners from other regions.»
The university receives active support from the RE-Start Center for the Development of Restoration Culture and Art and its director, Maria Portnova. Thanks to this collaboration, KBSU students have gained access to classes with federal experts and the opportunity to participate in all-Russian restoration symposiums.

Following the week-long intensive course, the students will demonstrate the techniques they have mastered. The next visit from specialists is planned for the spring, when work will focus on preparing their graduation projects.