A problem of scientific attribution according to the results of modern paint layer analyses is discussed herein. Recommended to use as attributive criteria are the data on typical pigment mixtures which were applied by old Russian painters when dealing respectively with faces, with draperies, and with architectural details on their icons. Such an approach has been verified during examinations of the three large icon complexes: the iconostasis from the Assumption cathedral of the Kirillo-Byelosersky monastery, the double-faced Novgorodian tablets and the iconostasis from the Annunciation cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. All these relics belong to the 15th century.