Here we see two iterations of Elias Garcia Martinez’ Ecce Homo: the original painted nearly 100 years ago in the Sanctuary of Mercy Church near Zaragoza, Spain, and the pitifully botched restoration done over the original by some random yo they hired because she had an art degree from Frank’s College of Knowledge.
Zaragoza city councilor Juan Maria Ojeda had this to say about the situation:
“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.”
No doubt she will be getting calls from Catholic Churches all over the place and will be hired on by one of the groups of wreckovators where before and afters such as this are the goal.
Via I Fixed That
7 comments
I think she might actually be good at creating those big puppets that show up in some churches.
You missed the best part, Jeff:
“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.”
Well, it’s not impossible that the overlying image was meant to improve upon the first cruder one. Oh well, c’est la guerre, and I do mean Guerre.
If you dig through enough links, you’ll discover that it was actually done by an elderly lady who was concerned that the picture was deteriorating and cared enough to do something about it. Granted, her skills were not up to the task, but she deserves better than to be called a “random yo.”
I thought the elderly lady was making a allegorical statement on the comparative quality of modern liturgical music. Honestly, it’s sickening when we destroy beauty and dismiss the whole matter since “we meant well.” Yes, we should always forgive, but acknowledge the enormity of the desecration.
I lean toward thinking the artist was a couple of colors short of a full palette. She doesn’t seem the malicious type, from what I’ve read.
That said, it is a sad story, and that this fine art was botched.
It’s not really bothched. If they can take 400 years of dirt off the Last Supper and the Sistine Chapel they can take the new paint off the fresco.