People build houses and paint pictures, create household items and art. By coming into contact with such objects every day, we unconsciously “influence” them, leading to wear and destruction. Houses become cracked like the paint on a painting, clothes wear out, and books become scuffed. That is why, along with the art of creation, the art of restoration appeared. Anything that loses its aesthetic appearance at a certain stage of time needs restoration. This is a responsible and labor-intensive process that requires the practical skills of the artist, and therefore history knows not only high-quality examples of restorations, but also very depressing ones. About such unsuccessful examples of restoration of works of art in this article.
Brighter, higher, stronger!
French art experts started a real scandal, accusing the Louvre of a terrible restoration. It is worth noting that we are talking about a painting by Leonardo da Vinci. This is not an ordinary portrait of a noble person, but a work painted with a brush greatest master painting. The essence of the accusations boils down to the excessive brightness that the canvas acquired after restoration work. This degree of brightness, according to experts, does not correspond to the author’s original idea. The Louvre notes that this was the most discussed restoration of all that was planned, and the committee approached the work with particular care. But these are all colorful words, but in fact, two representatives of the museum left the committee in protest against the inappropriate restoration. This is Segolene Bergeon Langle, who was responsible for the work of restorers in all national museums France, and Jean-Pierre Cusant - former custodian paintings in the Louvre. In their opinion, during the restoration work, important analyzes were not carried out that would determine the harmful effects of a potent solvent. Langal and Cusan generally considered the use of solvent unacceptable, but British masters stated that the materials would not spoil Leonardo’s unique pictorial effect, called sfumato. The committee ultimately assessed the work of the restorers as acceptable, but independent experts agree that lightening the surface significantly spoiled the painting. Perhaps the British restorers added brightness so that we could see the masterpiece as it originally looked in da Vinci’s workshop, because some paint pigments darken over time and lose their richness.
Sad pictures
Restoration historical heritage always has great importance in every state. These could be castles, buildings, paintings or frescoes. In our case, the object of work was a centuries-old fresco of the Qing Dynasty, located in the temple on Phoenix Mountain. The drawings that adorned the walls were in a deplorable state, the outlines of the figures had lost clarity, and the paint, worn out by time, had noticeably peeled off. The enterprising rector of the temple himself organized a collection of donations for restoration; this required 660 thousand dollars. During the restoration work, many violations were committed, and the saddest thing is that the artist practically painted new characters that do not repeat the plot of the original painting. Restoration categorically does not allow the creation of a new image on top of the old one, but only touches up the necessary fragments. Visitors to the temple note that the beautiful fresco has been hopelessly damaged and looks like a cheap decoration. Two officials responsible for carrying out such work were fired, but the customer noted that he was satisfied with the result. Unfortunately, it is obvious that the use simple flowers and the artist’s style showed the world cartoon scenes in the halls of the oldest Chinese temple.
Sometimes unsuccessful restorations can become the object of more than just disappointment and criticism. This happened with the fresco depicting the image of Christ in the Temple of Mercy. The temple is located in the provincial town of Bohra, the author of the fresco is Elias Garcia Martinez. A parishioner of the temple decided that the work needed restoration work and decided to personally do it. In 2010, 80-year-old pensioner Cecilia Jimenez began personal restoration; according to her, the rector of the temple allowed her to do this, but this information was not officially confirmed. The process was completed in the summer of 2012, and Cecilia’s work literally blew up the Internet when the pictures went online. The finished work resembled more of a hairy monkey or, upon closer inspection, a Jesus in a fur hat. Experts were outraged, summing up that this was the worst restoration work in history. Perhaps this is so, but Cecilia Jimenez, in addition to her ill-wishers, had defenders who pointed out the old age of the pensioner, and the uproar was a consequence of her kindness and desire to help the temple. And the help was really significant. Unsuccessful restoration attracted great amount tourists, and the temple gathered charitable assistance for an amount over 50 thousand euros.
wet business
Innovative artists surprise the public not with paintings that are familiar to the eye, but with installations and art objects that are assembled from all available materials. Modern Art It goes so far beyond understanding that sometimes very funny things happen to it. One of these occurred in the Dortmund gallery with the participation of a conscientious cleaning lady. The woman keeping order ruined the work of art, thinking it was just a wet spot. The piece was called “When the Ceiling Started to Dribble” by sculptor Martin Kipenberger. The art object was a rubber trough, inside of which there was wooden tower from boards. The lime mortar at the bottom of the container imitated rainwater and was an integral part of the composition. The hardworking cleaning lady, however, made her own adjustments and carefully wiped up the puddle. The sculpture is valued at 800 thousand euros and was rented by the gallery from a private collector. Gallery workers claim that the job cannot be restored, and the unfortunate cleaning lady, whose details have not been disclosed, was reprimanded.
The restoration of the fresco Ecce Homo (“Behold the Man”) in our time is far from the only example of unsuccessful restoration. Not long ago, the Louvre was accused of poor quality restoration of Leonardo da Vinci’s painting “St. Anne with the Madonna and Child Christ” (1510), after which both restorers submitted their resignations from the museum.
At the Prado Museum, during the restoration of El Greco’s painting “Portrait of a Cavalier with His Hand on His Chest” (1577-1579), the artist’s name at the bottom of the painting was erased.
Until now, the palm belonged to the former Prime Minister of Italy Silvio Berlusconi, who “sewed” the missing body parts to Venus and Mars (). Then art experts called this act tasteless and aesthetically incorrect, and some even equated Berlusconi’s decision to vandalism.
On August 21, a small article appeared in the Spanish edition of Heraldo, which reported how horribly a resident of the small town of Borja had restored the Ecce Homo fresco painted by the artist Elias Garcia Martinez and located in the Temple of Mercy. Before this, the name of Cecilia Jimenez was unknown to anyone, just as few people knew about the existence of the city of Borja with a population of only 5,000 inhabitants and about the picture itself, which the whole world is now talking about.
The story of the “most terrible restoration” was picked up by all the world’s media, and it turned into a real triumph for the author of the fresco. Indeed, until this moment, the name of the artist Elias García Martinez was known only to a narrow circle of specialists. He was born in the municipality of Requena in 1858, where he began drawing, then studied painting at the Royal Academy fine arts Saint Carlos, then went to Barcelona, and after that to Zaragoza. In Zaragoza, the artist married and taught at the School of Art. He died there too.
Artistic value The frescoes are not very large, however local residents she was appreciated. She did not leave Cecilia indifferent either. According to her, the constantly deteriorating condition of the fresco, caused by high humidity in the room, was very frustrating for her. Then the idea of restoration arose.
Now, however, the “restorer” assures that the idea to restore the painting did not belong to her, but to the priest: “The priest, of course, knew about it. Of course, I worked because I was asked to do so. Of course, everyone knew what I was doing. When people came to church, they saw me drawing. The abbot knew. How could I do such things without permission?
But church officials insist they knew nothing about artistic work his elderly parishioner. According to them, she decided to restore it on her own and began work in 2010. It’s hard to believe that all these two years no one paid attention to what the woman was doing, despite the fact that there is a security guard constantly on duty in the church.
Cecilia Jimenez has been drawing since early childhood. And this, by the way, is not the first time she restores paintings for native village, but so far there have been no complaints about it.
“I have a lot of works, some better, others worse, but they were all done with great love,” says Cecilia in an interview with a journalist from the Spanish El Mundo. She organized personal exhibitions more than once, and throughout her entire career creative career She even managed to sell about 40 paintings.
Cecilia was on vacation when the scandal broke, and when she returned to Borja she was unpleasantly surprised. Surprise was replaced by depression. This close attention to her own person and the fierce criticism did not pass without a trace for her - soon reports appeared in the press that the woman had become depressed, she refused to eat and did not want to get out of bed. “If you think that I have sinned by committing this act, then I ask for your forgiveness... I ask for forgiveness...”
Cecilia's life was extremely difficult. She became a widow early and had to raise two disabled children. One of them died, and the other, 60 years old, still lives with her. The woman always preferred solitude and led a reclusive lifestyle.
“She went to mass every day and helped in the church, like other women in the village. She was drawing simple paintings with flowers and landscapes... she led a very modest life,” says one of Cecilia’s acquaintances.
“I don’t regret starting the restoration. I regret that I couldn’t finish it to the end,” says Cecilia herself.
As a result of its restoration, Jesus now looks more like a monkey: the crown of thorns and hair resemble fur, the eyes and nose are deformed, and the mouth is a spot of an incomprehensible shape. The result of the work was discovered by employees of the center for the protection of monuments, who received a charitable contribution for the restoration of the fresco from the great-granddaughter of Elias García Martinez.
“I couldn’t imagine that everything would end like this. I didn’t want this,” Cecilia justifies herself. The woman claims that she used only the best paints: “I paint my paintings with them myself.”
A brave deed parishioners of the Temple of Mercy caused an information storm throughout the world. Both journalists and social media Señora Jimenez did not ignore this initiative.
Some attacked the old woman with severe criticism, others came to the defense of the elderly Spaniard, calling her the new Goya, Munch and Modigliani rolled into one.
There was even a petition on change.org in defense of the restored Jesus, which has already been signed by over 10,000 people. The authors of the petition state the following: “Spanish cultural figures want to remake a radical reworking of the clichéd image of Christ by Elias García Martínez<...>. This is a huge mistake as the new image is a cultural treasure and should be preserved."
The creation of an elderly Spanish woman in just a few hours became one of the most popular Internet memes. In Madrid, at the San Miguel market, they even made a pancake with an edible image of a fresco restored beyond recognition.
Residents of the town are very grateful to Cecilia because, thanks to her, their hometown appeared on the world map. "She good man, this situation broke her. We must not forget that Cecilia is an elderly person, and we all advised her to avoid contact with the press. It’s normal that she tries to defend herself, but it all ends with her arguing with our priest, with Elias Garcia’s family and, as a result, she suffers a lot,” says one of Cecilia’s neighbors.
“We should all support her and decided that each of us would bring a flower to Cecilia’s garden. This way we will show our support for her,” says another.
“I am very grateful to all the residents of Borja. I feel their support and love,” says Cecilia.
The restored fresco attracted people to the city big number tourists. Hundreds of curious people lined up at the Temple of Mercy. To avoid damage to the fresco due to the influx of tourists, guards were posted next to it.
Seeing such a stir, the city authorities now want to officially register the Ecce Homo brand and formalize all the rights.
But at the same time, the city council does not rule out that a criminal case will be opened against the old woman for illegal actions in relation to the facility cultural heritage. However, representatives of the city administration admit that this situation quite "delicate".
Many government officials also came to Cecilia's defense. “We think she did it with the best intentions. Next week she will meet with the restorer and tell her what materials she used,” cultural adviser Juan Maria Ojeda told El Pais.
The final decision on restoration will be made no earlier than in two weeks.
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The task of conservators is to restore dilapidated and damaged works of art. This work is creative, but not at all simple: a wrong movement and the masterpiece is ruined, so punctures are inevitable.
website collected sensational cases when restoration did not go as planned.
1. Damaged fresco
The most notorious case of unsuccessful restoration occurred in Spain. Cecilia Jimenez, 80, volunteered to restore a peeling fresco of Jesus in the local cathedral. But for some reason it turned out completely different from the original; apparently, the elderly woman’s eyesight had failed her.
One can argue endlessly whether Cecilia did evil or good. On the one hand, the fresco was damaged. On the other hand, the cathedral became famous throughout the world, and Cecilia is called the new Goya.
2. The heroes of the fresco who lost their eyes
Restoration of frescoes in Sistine Chapel was the largest restoration work of the twentieth century. But many art critics believe that it was unsuccessful.
When the craftsmen cleared the vaults of soot, they touched the top layer of the frescoes with amendments by Michelangelo himself. As a result, some heroes even lost their eyes.
3. Berlusconi's fantasy
In 2010, statues of Mars and Venus dating back to 175 AD were installed at the entrance to the residence of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. The figures were found with body parts already broken off.
Berlusconi ordered the restoration of the statues. It looked good, but art critics did not appreciate the Prime Minister’s impulse. It is believed that remaking ancient monuments in your own way is akin to vandalism, because we do not know what the figures originally looked like. Now Mars and Venus have been restored to their original appearance.
4. Lightened picture
Leonardo da Vinci's work “Saint Anne with the Madonna and Child Christ” began to look much lighter after restoration. If previously cloudy dark shades predominated, now the picture looks very bright, as if the action is taking place on a sunny day. According to experts, this contradicts da Vinci's plan.
Some of the Louvre committee specialists even left their posts in protest against such a restoration. But is the work of restorers so bad?
5. Unrecognizable Lenin
In the Krasnodar Territory, Russia, after restoration, the monument to Lenin acquired disproportionately long arm and someone else's face.
It turns out that the monument had this appearance for a long time, but photographs of it came to the attention of the general public only in 2016. The story of the monument even appeared on central television. After this, the leader of the world proletariat was brought into proper form.
6. The Great Wall of China
The Great Wall of China is the largest architectural monument on earth, and, unfortunately, it is also gradually being destroyed.
Several years ago, restorers unsuccessfully reconstructed one of the most beautiful sections of the wall, 780 meters long, by simply covering it with a layer of concrete.
Now an investigation is being carried out against unscrupulous restorers, and the remaining parts of the wall are being restored more carefully.
7. Matrera Castle
The reconstruction of the ancient Matrera fortress in Spain turned out to be very controversial: the tower began to look too modern. It turned out that the reconstructor Carlos Quevedo Rojas wanted to make it clear which parts of the fortress were new and which were ancient.
8. Tutankhamun's beard
On August 21, a small article appeared in the Spanish edition of Heraldo, which talked about how badly a resident of the small town of Borja, an 80-year-old pensioner, restored the fresco "Ecce Homo" ("Here is the man"), painted by the artist Elias García Martínez. The publication included photographs of the fresco depicting Jesus Christ before and after restoration. In the updated version of the work, Christ was unrecognizable - the fresco began to resemble children's drawing, depicting either a monkey or a fluffy potato with eyes.
After the publication in Heraldo around the action of Cecilia Jimenez, who decided to restore the fresco, which, according to various sources, dates back late XIX- at the beginning of the 20th century, a real scandal broke out. Some attacked the old woman with severe criticism, while others came to the defense of the elderly Spaniard, proclaiming her the new Munch and Modigliani rolled into one. Be that as it may, the image of Jesus Christ created by Jimenez seems to have already occupied its niche in modern art.
Cecilia Jimenez told reporters that she began working on the restoration of the "Ecce Homo" fresco located on a church column several years ago. According to a parishioner of the church, she was upset by the condition of the work, which was deteriorating due to the humidity in the premises of the religious building.
The pensioner, as she herself claims, turned to the priest, and he allegedly agreed for her to carry out restoration work. “Of course, everyone knew about what I was doing. When people came to church, they saw that I was drawing. The rector knew. How could I do such things without permission?” Jimenez was quoted by the media. At the same time, representatives of the church claim that they knew nothing about the artistic work of their elderly parishioner.
One way or another, the restoration, which began in 2010, was completed in the summer of 2012. The results of Cecilia Jimenez's work were revealed a couple of weeks ago, when specialists arrived at the church to assess the condition of the fresco depicting Christ in order to draw up a plan for restoration work. The restoration was supposed to be done at the expense of the granddaughter of the author of the fresco, Teresa Martinez - it was she who allocated the money and sent it to the church.
Arriving in Borja, experts discovered instead of a fresco something completely different - a primitive image of a certain creature with a fur-covered head (optionally, dressed in a woolen bonnet), sadly turned to the side. From the fresco he looked at the specialists, as BBC News employees wrote, " pencil sketch with the image of a very hairy monkey in a baggy tunic." Only this very oversized tunic reminded of the original appearance of "Ecce Homo" - both before and after the restoration it was beetroot color (by the way, as Teresa Martinez noted, Cecily Jimenez's tunic did not turn out so badly , like everything else). The church in Borja promised that the furry Jesus will disappear - the fresco is planned to be restored again, this time by professionals.
After the news spread in the English-language press about the most unsuccessful restoration in the history of art, a campaign was launched on the Internet to preserve the furry Jesus (bloggers have already managed to give Jimenez’s work a new name - “Ecce Mono”, which they translated as “Behold the monkey”). Of course, the creation of an elderly Spanish woman in just a few hours became one of the most popular Internet memes - “photophotos” of a furry Jesus can be found.
80-year-old amateur artist Cecilia Giménez had nothing but good intentions when she turned her attention to the deteriorating fresco of Jesus Christ on the wall in the Church of Mercy in the small spanish city Borja.
The fresco entitled "Ecce Homo" (meaning "Here is the man") was created Spanish artist Elias García Martínez in 1930. Although this work, according to the general opinion in the press, had "little artistic value", because "Martinez is not a great artist, and his painting "Ecce Homo" is not a "masterpiece", the fresco nevertheless acquired some sentimental value among the local population.
So, when the original paint on the fresco began to peel off, Cecilia Jimenez, who had no special education, took on the task of restoring the aging piece of art.
The damaged fresco "Ecce Homo" on the left and its "restored" version on the right.
Jimenez touched up the painting stroke by stroke for several years with the knowledge of the parish priest and church guards, until one day in the summer of 2012 she decided that the fresco needed a major restoration. In the middle of the "restoration process", Jimenez went on vacation because the work took much longer than she expected. The woman intended to complete it upon her return, but, for better or worse, she never got the chance again.
By the time she returned from vacation, the general public had learned of her failed efforts, and Jimenez had become a worldwide laughingstock. The failed restoration became main theme on the Internet, giving rise to many memes and jokes on the World Wide Web. Journalists compared the restoration to how famous character Mr. Bean, played by Rowan Atkinson, ruined the film "Whistler's Mother". Some compared the painting to a blurry image of a potato and a monkey. Others called her "Furry Jesus" and "Ecce Mono" ("Behold the Monkey").
Jimenez felt so humiliated that she cried for days and refused to eat, according to her family. As a result, the woman had to seek help from a psychiatrist and take medication. At some point, the heirs of Garcia Martinez threatened to sue Cecilia Jimenez for damaging the painting, but, fortunately for her, they did not follow through.
The original intact painting (left), the damaged painting (middle), and Cecilia Jimenez's restoration (right).
Nowadays, by a strange twist of fate, the small, little-known town of Borja has suddenly appeared on the international tourist route. Every year, tens of thousands of curious visitors with a strange sense of humor come from far corners of the world to witness the tragic fiasco for themselves and go home with various souvenirs such as mugs and T-shirts featuring the "new and improved" Ecce Homo mural.
Cecilia Jimenez, whose failed attempt to restore a church painting once drew mockery and ridicule, is now a local celebrity. She presents prizes in a competition for young artists who paint their own versions of the painting "Ecce Homo." People recognize her on the street and shout: "It's Cecilia! It's Cecilia!" She even has 49% of sales revenue souvenir products. The rest goes to the family of the artist Martinez.
Cecilia Jimenez may not have been able to restore the painting, but she managed to revive the destiny of her city. The influx of tourists has helped stabilize Borja's economy, reeling from the economic downturn that has plagued the rest of Spain over the past few years.
"For me it's a story of faith," said Andrew Flack, the opera's librettist who composed comic opera about how one woman ruined a fresco and saved the city. “It’s a miracle how she was able to contribute to the prosperity of tourism!”
“Why do people come to look at the fresco if it is such a work of art?” he asks. “This is a kind of pilgrimage, transformed by the media into a phenomenon. The ways of God are mysterious. Your catastrophe may turn into a miracle for me.”
"Arrangement in Gray and Black: The Artist's Mother" from the film "Mr. Bean", 1997, "Restored" by Mr. Bean by James McNeill Whistler.
Assortment of souvenirs "Ecce Homo".
A collection of Internet memes about the failed restoration of the "Ecce Homo" fresco.
Tourists line up to look at the church painting "Ecce Homo" on the altar at the Shrine of Mercy in Borja, Spain.