An art collector in Spain was shocked after the face of the Virgin Mary in a copy of a 17th century painting they paid to have restored was left unrecognisable - despite two attempts to fix it.
The private collector, in Valencia, is said to have paid a furniture restorer 1,200 euros (£1,080) to carry out work on the copy of The Immaculate Conception of Los Venerables by the baroque artist Bartolomé Esteban Murillo.
However, the restorer's first effort was a disaster, leaving Mary's face disfigured, and the subsequent attempt to correct it just made it worse.
Conservation experts in Spain have now called for a tightening of laws regarding restoration following the botched job.
Fernando Carrera, a professor at the Galician School for the Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage, said that such work should only be performed by trained restorers.
'I don't think this guy - or these people - should be referred to as restorers... they're bodgers who botch things up. They destroy things,' he told The Guardian.
Carrera, a former president of Spain's Professional Association of Restorers and Conservators (Acre), added: 'Can you imagine just anyone being allowed to operate on other people? Or someone being allowed to sell medicine without a pharmacist's licence? Or someone who's not an architect being allowed to put up a building?'
He also said that part of the problem was that some politicians 'just don't give a t*ss about heritage'.
The incident is reminiscent of another now infamous restoration of a painting in the town of Borja, northern Spain, which came to be known as 'Beast Jesus'.
On that occasion, pensioner Cecilia Giménez took it upon herself - apparently with the permission of the priest - to touch up the 'Ecce Homo' (Behold The Man) painting that was stationed in the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Mercy church.
The original was drawn by Elías Garcia Martínez, a Zaragoza art professor, but neglect in preserving the portrait stung Mrs Giménez into action. The painting is a 120-year-old fresco.
However, her brushwork completely obliterated the face of Jesus, transforming the painting into what locals described more like a hedgehog or monkey than Jesus.
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Source: Daily Mail, The Guardian
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The private collector, in Valencia, is said to have paid a furniture restorer 1,200 euros (£1,080) to carry out work on the copy of The Immaculate Conception of Los Venerables by the baroque artist Bartolomé Esteban Murillo.
However, the restorer's first effort was a disaster, leaving Mary's face disfigured, and the subsequent attempt to correct it just made it worse.
Conservation experts in Spain have now called for a tightening of laws regarding restoration following the botched job.
Fernando Carrera, a professor at the Galician School for the Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage, said that such work should only be performed by trained restorers.
'I don't think this guy - or these people - should be referred to as restorers... they're bodgers who botch things up. They destroy things,' he told The Guardian.
Carrera, a former president of Spain's Professional Association of Restorers and Conservators (Acre), added: 'Can you imagine just anyone being allowed to operate on other people? Or someone being allowed to sell medicine without a pharmacist's licence? Or someone who's not an architect being allowed to put up a building?'
He also said that part of the problem was that some politicians 'just don't give a t*ss about heritage'.
The incident is reminiscent of another now infamous restoration of a painting in the town of Borja, northern Spain, which came to be known as 'Beast Jesus'.
On that occasion, pensioner Cecilia Giménez took it upon herself - apparently with the permission of the priest - to touch up the 'Ecce Homo' (Behold The Man) painting that was stationed in the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Mercy church.
The original was drawn by Elías Garcia Martínez, a Zaragoza art professor, but neglect in preserving the portrait stung Mrs Giménez into action. The painting is a 120-year-old fresco.
However, her brushwork completely obliterated the face of Jesus, transforming the painting into what locals described more like a hedgehog or monkey than Jesus.
Source: Daily Mail, The Guardian
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/patryn.worldlatestnews
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