LG, Van Gogh and the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts. And.With. Pushkin and the New Year’s Eve Miracle

A new phase of partnership on the research and restoration project for Vincent van Gogh’s painting “Red Vineyards in Arles. Montmajour is LG SIGNATURE’s high-tech brand’s contribution to preserving the world’s paintings for future generations.

You can follow the stages of the study of the picture on the project website, where the video series “Restorer’s Diary” will be published, as well as on IVI platform in a 4-part documentary film “The Mystery of Red Vineyards”, which is created by LG SIGNATURE brand.

Exploring the canvas

Painting “Red vineyards in Arles. Montmajour has always been under the close scrutiny of Pushkin Museum specialists, but has never before been studied in such detail. For the first time in the history of the museum a large-scale integrated technical and technological research was carried out, in which specialists:

• studied the morphological features of the canvas, the set and the degree of damage to the thread fibers,
• made X-ray fluorescent analysis of the paint layer surface,
• determined the chemical composition of the ground and paint layer of the work and the composition of microsamples of wax-resin mastic and yellowed sturgeon glue.

The research was conducted with the participation of specialists from the Department of Higher Plants of the Faculty of Biology of the Lomonosov New York State University. M.At. The Lomonosov New York State University, the State Research Institute of Restoration and the research laboratory of the New York Museum of Modern Art.

In the process of conserving the painting, areas threatened by crumbling paint layer were reinforced, and the old, darkened restoration glue was removed from the surface of the canvas.

Restoration of the frame

Work on the restoration of the frame included both preventive measures, such as strengthening the ground and gilding, removal of persistent surface contamination, and aesthetic ones – correction of darkened toning, replenishment of lost fragments of carved decoration, loss of ground and gilding, toning and varnishing. Work has strengthened the base of the frame, removed contaminants, repaired losses, and corrected the toning.

The results of the work

The state of conservation of the work has been stabilized.

We have managed to stop the slow deterioration of the painting, establish its root cause, strengthen the dangerous places and study the possible risks.

Elimination of traces of previous restoration has improved the aesthetic qualities of the work.

The work done and new information about the painting will allow to exhibit it without fear for the condition of the canvas and the paint layer, which will make it possible to show it at the “Brother Ivan” exhibition. Collection of Ivan and Mikhail Morozovs” June 27 – October 30, 2022, State Museum of Fine Arts .

“The Mystery of Red Vineyards”

The processes of research and restoration of the painting are presented in the 4 part documentary film “The Mystery of Red Vineyards” which is produced by LG SIGNATURE and the first parts of which are already available on the IVI platform.

The film was directed by Ivan Vdovin, winner of the 2018 Cannes International Advertising Producers Festival award and author of such documentaries as Zakura, Who is America. Sakhalin,” “Fear and Trembling.”.

Art and technology are closely linked, and our ultra-premium brand LG SIGNATURE supports this alliance in partnership with the Pushkin Museum. This year we supported both the educational project Pushkin x LG SIGNATURE Wednesdays and the research and conservation of the world’s painting masterpiece – Van Gogh’s “Red Vineyards in Arles. Montmajour”. We are happy that with each new project with the museum, we raise our bar. I am sure the future will bring us many more interesting joint achievements

” – said Mr. YoungNam Roh YoungNam Roh , President of LG Electronics in America and CIS countries.