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« 2026. # 3 (189)

The Ethnology Notebooks. 2026. № 3 (189), 675—688

UDK7.025.4:678.7(091)

DOI https://doi.org/10.15407/

THE PRINCIPLE OF REVERSIBILITY IN EASEL PAINTING RESTORATION: EVOLUTION OF THE CONCEPT AND CONTEMPORARY CHALLENGES

MANКO Viktor

Abstract. The article presents a comprehensive study of the conceptual transformation of the principle of reversibility as a central ethical imperative in the restoration of works of art, specifically easel painting.

The relevance of the study stems from the fact that the establishment of professional restoration as a scientific discipline is closely linked to the formation of an ethical system where the principle of reversibility was long considered an inviolable axiom. However, the widespread introduction of synthetic polymers in the second half of the twentieth century revealed significant discrepancies between the theoretical solubility of materials and their practical removability after decades of natural aging. Current existential challenges in Ukraine, caused by military aggression, the need for mass evacuation, and the prolonged transportation of movable heritage under unstable temperature and humidity conditions, impose stringent requirements on the structural stability and long­term predictability of conservation systems. This drives an urgent need to transition from a dogmatic interpretation of reversibility to pragmatic strategies of managed risk and re­treatability.

The aim of the article is to elucidate the conceptual and thematic evolution of the principle of reversibility in the theory and practice of easel painting restoration during the 20th—21st centuries, analyze the degradation processes of legacy synthetic materials, substantiate a three­tier hierarchical scale of reversibility, and outline practical prospects for implementing cutting­edge nanosystems, low­molecular­weight resins, and the principles of «green chemistry» within the Ukrainian scientific and practical landscape.

Research methodology is based on a comparative analysis of theoretical concepts and a critical review of the practice of applying synthetic materials.

Scientific novelty lies in the systematization of the evolution of the reversibility principle from a binary system to a multi­level preservation strategy, the development of a three­tier hierarchical scale of restoration intervention based on objective physicochemical constants, and the formulation of applied recommendations for modernizing domestic restoration practice.

Keywords: easel painting restoration, principle of reversibility, synthetic materials, re­treatability, restoration ethics, nanotechnology in conservation, green chemistry, cultural heritage of Ukraine.

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