Visitors of the Chernivtsi Regional Art Museum can now observe the live process of restoring an exceptionally intriguing and rare exhibit, "The Last Judgment," and explore the fascinating stories depicted on the 18th-century icon.

The ancient icon, made in a semi-professional manner, is being brought back to life by a high-level specialist, restorer of the first category of oil painting, member of the National Union of Artists, Honored Worker of Culture of Ukraine Volodymyr Krasnov. It is his skillful, filigree work that museum visitors can observe.

The work dates back to 1770. The icon was brought back from an expedition to Putyla district in a dilapidated state (it was stored in the village of Ust-Putyla). Fragments of the icon had contamination, abrasions, creases, crumbling of the paint layer to the base, and deformations.

Volodymyr Krasnov explains: "I started restoring the exhibit more than two years ago. Due to the terrible state of preservation, we had to duplicate the icon on a new canvas. Given the huge size of the canvas, duplication, like the rest of the restoration, is a complex and lengthy process."

Preparing the ground, cleaning the icon from contamination, applying a special coating and painting tints - each of these stages of restoration is extremely responsible.

The icon is being placed and restored in the exposition hall of religious art, where it will be permanently exhibited. Here, visitors can also see another restored masterpiece by the author - a unique 19th-century multi-plot icon "The Holy City of Jerusalem".

The unique pilgrimage icon "The Holy City of Jerusalem" is a rather complicated and rare composition with many scenes from the Old and New Testaments. Volodymyr Krasnov worked on it for five years. The restorer says: "The closest thing to this icon in terms of its compositional structure is the icon from the Bulgarian church in Nessebar."

The artist has restored more than 200 works of paintings and icons, most of which are artistic monuments of Bukovyna iconography and painting of the 17th - 20th centuries. In his work, Volodymyr Krasnov professes the main principle of restoration: "Do no harm and preserve!".

Today, visitors to the Chernivtsi Regional Art Museum can see how a work of art is revived from oblivion as a result of hard work. When this work by Volodymyr Krasnov is completed, the "Last Judgment" of 1770 will appear on the museum's podium.