Lydia Durnovo |
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| Born | 13 May [O.S. 1 May] 1885
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| Died | January 7, 1963(1963-01-07) (aged 82)
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| Nationality | Russian, Soviet |
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| Other names | Lydia Durnova (used until 1952 as a pseudonym to cover up her aristocratic roots)[1] |
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| Occupation | Art history |
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| Awards | Honored Art Worker of the Armenian SSR (1945)[2] |
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Lydia Aleksandrovna Durnovo (Russian: Лидия Александровна Дурново; 1885 – 1963) was a Soviet art historian and art restorer.[2] She specialized in medieval art, especially in early Russian painting and Armenian illuminated manuscripts (miniatures) and frescoes.[3]
Born in the Russian city of Smolensk, Durnovo first attended a local gymnasium and a painting school before moving to Saint Petersburg where she attended the School of Technical Drawing of Baron Alexander von Stieglitz beginning in 1903.[1] She subsequently completed her postgraduate studies at the State Institute of Art History (Государственный институт истории искусств) and the Archaeology Institute (ru) between 1920 and 1923.[1] Durnovo worked as a research fellow at the Archaeology Institute, specializing in early Russian art. She was also the assistant curator of the Russian Museum.[1]
In October 1933 she was arrested for allegedly being an "active member of a counterrevolutionary fascist organization." She was deported to Siberia and eventually freed three years later, in November 1936.[4] Durnovo moved to the Armenian capital of Yerevan and became a member of the staff of the National Gallery of Armenia. Until 1951 she was devoted to the study of medieval Armenian frescoes and illuminated manuscripts.[1] She specialized in medieval Armenian art,[5] and by the mid-1950s Durnovo earned the reputation of an authoritative expert in the field.[1] She supervised the restoration of the Etchmiadzin Cathedral's frescoes.[2] She was rehabilitated by the Soviet government in 1956.[1]
