Elias Garcia Martinez's Ecce Homo (left) and the "restoration"
Posted on 08/22/2012 1:49:28 PM PDT by NYer
Elias Garcia Martinez's Ecce Homo (left) and the "restoration"
An elderly parishioner has stunned Spanish cultural officials with an alarming and unauthorised attempt to restore a prized Jesus Christ fresco.
Ecce Homo (Behold the Man) by Elias Garcia Martinez has held pride of place in the Sanctuary of Mercy Church near Zaragoza for more than 100 years.
The woman took her brush to it after years of deterioration due to moisture.
Cultural officials said she had the best intentions and hoped it could be properly restored.Donation
The woman, in her 80s, was reportedly upset at the way the fresco had deteriorated and took it on herself to "restore" the image.
BBC Europe correspondent Christian Fraser says the delicate brush strokes of Elias Garcia Martinez have been buried under a haphazard splattering of paint.
The once-dignified portrait now resembles a crayon sketch of a very hairy monkey in an ill-fitting tunic, he says.
The woman appears to have realised she was out of her depth and contacted Juan Maria Ojeda, the city councillor in charge of cultural affairs.
Art historians are expected to meet at the church soon to discuss how to proceed.
Mr Ojeda said: "I think she had good intentions. Next week she will meet with a repairer and explain what kind of materials she used.
"If we can't fix it, we will probably cover the wall with a photo of the painting."
The fresco is not thought to be very valuable, but has a high sentimental value for local people.
Our correspondent says that to make matters worse, the local centre that works to preserve artworks had just received a donation from the painter's granddaughter which they had planned to use to restore the original fresco.
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.co.uk ...
Ping!
Lol... It’s Mrs. Bean.
I wouldn’t have known that a member of the West Wing was visiting that church.
After all, botching things is their life, their dream, and their only talent.
This is like letting 0bama and the democrats run the economy.
But he had union seniority. He was the right man for the job. The EU
required it
This HAD to have been done with an Obama stimulus grant.
... the kind that the road to hell is paved with.
Spanish cultural officials...any Islamic members?
Looks like Ally Oop. Will ping, must travel.
I would venture a guess that the painting in question was a secco fresco which is paint applied to already dried plaster. It is nowhere near as durable and typically will exhibit the kind of flaking seen here. The upside is, in relative terms, it should be easier to restore.
“Looks like Ally Oop.”
Or Alley Oops!
Kinda looks like a Picasso.
Possibly a little late.
Wow, you never cease to amaze!
I get the urge to do a similar fix with Picasso's paintings. Hmm, a little flesh tone, a little brown and presto! the eyes are now properly separated by a nose.
The things one learns from botching a few restorations of my own :-)
Out of her depth! A ten year old could have done better!
I'm just saying.
One commenter said it reminded him of his blow up doll.
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