19th-Century Fresco Destroyed by Elderly Woman’s DIY Restoration
From left: Photograph of the painting in 2010 —> how it looked in July 2012 —> following the recent restoration.
TITLE: “Behold the Man (Ecce Homo)”
ARTIST: Elias Garcia Martinez
DATE: c. 1890
WHY WE CHOSE IT: What happens when a good-intentioned parishioner volunteers her amateur art restoration services?
According the report:
The “Ecce Homo” a depiction of Christ crowned with thorns painted by local artist Elias Garcia Martinez has graced the wall of the Santuario de Misericodia Church in the village of Borja, near Zaragoza, Spain, for more than 120 years.
But over the last 18 months its surface has deteriorated due to moisture in the church, causing parts of the painting to flake off.
A woman in her 80s, upset at the worsening state of an image she loved to gaze on, took it upon herself to restore the artwork to its former glory, but with devastating results.
The result was a botched repair in which the original face has been almost completely painted over with amateur brushstrokes and the image now resembles more ape than man.
Time to call in the professionals.
SOURCE: The Telegraph
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