The Ethnology Notebooks. 2026. № 1 (187), 92—103
UDK 75.051(=112.2):069.5(477.83-25)]”14″
The date the article was first submitted to the publication 16.01.2026
The date the article was accepted for publication after review 20.01.2026
The date of publication (publication)
INDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH OF THE PAINTING «THE MONK’S HEAD» FROM THE COLLECTION OF THE BORYS VOZNYTSKY LVIV NATIONAL ART GALLERY
LUBINSKY Ruslan
- ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7671-0867
- PhD Candidate, National Academy
- of Fine Arts and Architecture,
- Department of Art Theory and History,
- 20, Voznesenskyi Uzviz St., Kyiv, 04053, Ukraine,
- Contacts: e-mail: ruslan.lubynskyi@naoma.edu.ua
Abstract. Introduction. The article presents a comprehensive study of the painting «Monk’s Head» from the collection of the Borys Voznytskyi Lviv National Art Gallery. The research combines archival investigation, art historical comparative analysis, and technical and technological examination using physical-optical and physical-chemical methods, including spectroscopy.
Problem Statement. Works of German painting of the 15th century are extremely rare in Ukrainian museum collections. Only four easel paintings of this period are preserved in the Borys Voznytskyi Lviv National Art Gallery. All of them, with the author’s participation, underwent technological and art historical research (2021; 2025), including Monk’s Head (inv. Ж-366), attributed to the German painter Hans Multscher. Modern scientific methods enable an assessment of the work’s authenticity, later interventions, and their impact on preservation, making technical and technological research essential for attribution clarification.
Purpose. To publish the results of art historical analysis, archival research, and technical examinations of «Monk’s Head» by Hans Multscher, to evaluate its authenticity, identify the nature and scale of later interventions, and propose considerations regarding its original state.
Methods. X-ray diffraction, infrared reflectography, ultraviolet luminescence, macrophotography, scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and Raman spectroscopy.
Results. Analysis of elemental composition and stratigraphy revealed a pigment palette consistent with European medieval painting, particularly with materials typical of German masters of the 15th century. Samples from non-authorial areas contained some similar components but also pigments of a later date, corresponding to documented restoration interventions.
Conclusion. Hypothetically, «Monk’s Head» may have been a fragment of a larger multi-figure composition that was later reduced by cropping or cutting. This raises the question of whether the work should be regarded as an independent portrait or studied as a fragment of a lost composition. Consequently, any conclusions regarding its original compositional structure remain tentative.
Keywords: technical and technological expertise, attribution, easel painting, Germany, 15th century, Hans Multscher, Borys Voznytsky Lviv National Art Gallery.
REFERENCES
- Restoration protocols. Cards. 1957—1960. Archives of the Borys Voznytskyi. Lviv National Art Gallery [in Russian].
- Max, j. Friedlдnder. (1901). Hans Multscher’s altarpiece wings from 1437. Yearbook of the Royal Prussian Art Collections. National Museums in Berlin — Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, 22, 253—66 [in German].
- Tripps M. Multscher Hans. (1997). In: New German Biography (NDB) (Vol. 18, p. 576 f.). Berlin: Duncker & Humblot. ISBN 3-428-00199-0 [in German].
- Ainsworth, M.W., & Waterman, J.P. (2013). German Paintings in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1350—1600. Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, N.Y.
- Nash, S. (2011). Late Medieval Panel Paintings: Materials, Methods, Meanings. London: Sam Fogg.
- Gallagher, Michael. (1996). The Passion Scenes of the Wurzacher Altar. Restoration and Painting Technique Interim Report. In: Yearbook of Berlin Museums, 38, 201—213 [in German].
- Schiessl, U., Dardes, K., & Rothe, A. (Eds.). (1998). History of Structural Panel Painting Conservation in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. The Structural Conservation of Panel Paintings. Proceedingf of a symposium at the J. Paul Getty Museum, 24—28 April 1995 (Pp. 200—236). Los Аngeles: The Getty Conservation Institute.
- Baum, K. von, Neuhoff, T., & Saint-George, C. Von. (2012). Metal leaf application, decorative techniques, and paint application. The artistic signature from a technological perspective. ZKK 26, 33—53 [in German].
- Ripko, O., & Ovsiichuk, V. (1982). Lviv Art Gallery: Album. Kyiv: Mystetstvo [in Ukrainian].
- Lubynskyi, R. (2021). Expertise and problems of attribution of «Carrying the Cross» from the collection of the Borys Voznytskyi Lviv National Art Gallery. Scientific journal ART CULTURE. CURRENT PROBLEMS, 17 (2), 74—83. Retrieved from: https://doi.org/10.31500/1992-5514.17(2).2021.247971 [in Ukrainian].
- Lubynskyi R. (2022). Expertise and problems of attribution of the painting «Saints Mary Magdalene, Odile and Clara» (collection of the Borys Voznytskyi Lviv National Art Gallery). Current issues in the humanities, 55 (2), 65—70. Retrieved from: https://doi.org/10.24919/2308-4863/55-2-10 [in Ukrainian].
- Lubynskyi, R. (2025). Expertise and problems of attribution of the painting «The Crowning with Thorns» (collection of the Borys Voznytskyi Lviv National Art Gallery). Scientific journal ART CULTURE. CURRENT PROBLEMS, 21 (1), 157—164. Retrieved from: https://doi.org/10.31500/1992-5514.21(1).2025.333497 [in Ukrainian]. Thomas, K.E. (2013). Technical Observation on the Early German Paintings Collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In: Ainsworth, M.W., Waterman, J.P. German Paintings in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1350—1600. Metropolitan Museum of Art (Pp. 7—13). New York, N.Y.
