"Behold the man"
Fresco by Elias Garcia Martinez
In the small Spanish town of Borja, located near Zaragoza, with a population of 5,000 people, there is a Temple of Mercy, the main attraction of which was the fresco “Ecce Homo” (“Behold the Man”). It was written by the artist Elias García Martinez, known until now only to specialists. He was born in 1858 in the municipality of Requena, where he began drawing, then studied painting at the Royal Academy fine arts Saint Carlos, then went to Barcelona and then to Zaragoza. In Zaragoza, the artist married, taught at the School of Art portrait painting. Died in 1934. His work is not rated very highly by critics. The fresco was in a deplorable state - part of the face of Christ had been erased, and in some places the paint was crumbling due to humidity. The parishioners were greatly upset by the state of the painting.
In 2010, 80-year-old retiree Cecilia Jimenez decided to restore it herself. According to her, the rector authorized the restoration. According to church representatives, no one knew anything about artistic activity parishioners. This is hard to believe, given that the “restoration” lasted for two years and was interrupted in the summer of 2012, when specialists specially hired to restore the fresco by the author’s granddaughter Teresa Martinez arrived at the church at her own expense.
There was a buzz in the press. Some demand that the painting be truly restored, others compare Cecilia with Goya, Munch and Modigliani, believing that the work needs to be preserved as an interesting example of primitivism, while others mock the result, calling it “Ecce Mono” (“Behold the monkey”).
My opinion is this.
Firstly, the position of the church on this issue is surprising - either they do not notice the restoration carried out for two years, then suddenly they begin to take money from tourists to return the fresco to its original state. Of course, many people simply need to engage in socially useful activities to assert themselves. Cecilia Jimenez lived hard life, and this brings a person much closer to religion. She can draw, and the pastor might well allow her to work on the painting of the temple. But you can’t entrust such serious work on a cultural monument to a non-specialist, and then hide cowardly, not wanting to say directly: “yes, Cecilia acted with the best intentions, and only we are to blame for the current situation.”
And secondly, after the hype in the press, many learned about the existence of such an artist as Elias Garcia Martinez, who, in my opinion, was absolutely wrong to consider mediocre. What can be seen on the original of the dilapidated fresco is impressive and touches the soul. How many more discoveries remain to be made completely by accident?
In 2012, a rather curious scandal occurred in the art world: everyone rushed to repost the news about the Spanish pensioner Cecilia Jimenez, who “restored” a fresco from the beginning of the 20th century.
The mural, entitled Ecce Homo (“Behold the Man”), was a local landmark in the small Spanish town of Borja. It was indeed in a deplorable state, but the result of the work of the self-proclaimed restorer both horrified and amused the public. Instead of the face of Christ, from the wall of the temple there was now, as a BBC correspondent put it, “a monkey in an ill-fitting jacket.” On the Internet, the pensioner’s work has also become known as “Furry Jesus.”
Ironically, a relative of the author of the fresco, the artist Elias Garcia Martinez, sent funds to the temple to restore its work, but the help was late: by that time Jimenez had already managed to complete what she started. The news spread across all news channels around the world, and instantly acquired the status of a meme on the Internet, provoking an avalanche of cartoons.
Under a barrage of condemnation from the press, church ministers rushed to make excuses, fenced off the “scene of the incident” and organized a committee to restore the fresco.
But then things took an unexpected turn: crowds of tourists poured into a hitherto unknown town with a population of 5 thousand people and reigning unemployment!
The city's income increased significantly, and the church, not at a loss, again opened access to the fresco and began charging visitors an entrance fee. Cecilia Jimenez, who at first asked for forgiveness for her vandalism, also changed her attitude to the situation, hired a lawyer and began to demand royalties for her work.
A Spanish pensioner tried to independently restore a 19th-century fresco - one of the main attractions of the local church. The result was disastrous.
A fresco by Elias García Martínez depicting Jesus Christ graced a church near Zaragoza for over a hundred years.
Art Over the years, it has received some damage: some of the fragments have been erased due to the high humidity in the room, and in some places the paint has crumbled.
Then the 80-year-old woman brought paints to the church and completed the missing details.
According to BBC correspondent Christian Fraser, instead of the Savior on the fresco, it turned out to be something similar to a hairy monkey in a shapeless tunic. Martinez's fine work was hidden by crudely applied paint.
The parishioner soon realized she had damaged the ancient work and contacted the local council, who are hoping to restore the fresco.
The image of the “restored” fresco spread all over the world and attracted the attention of thousands of Internet users.
“I am very glad that my church and my city became known to the whole world thanks to me, although this was not my intention when I began restoring the fresco,” explains Jimenez.
As a result of enormous attention and mass criticism, Jimenez was acutely worried about what happened.
“She spends every summer in the temple,” explains Jose Maria Aznar, who is responsible for the maintenance of the church. “All these years, Cecilia has helped us restore the church without any problems. At first she was afraid to touch the fresco, seeing that it was badly damaged, but one morning she took her brushes and, without discussing it with anyone, began to “restore” it.
Although Ms. Jimenez has her detractors, many people support her. Hundreds of fans sent her letters of approval.
“I want to thank you for the support I receive from all over the world,” says Jimenez. “Thanks to her, I feel much better now.”
“She told my wife what she had done, she said, 'I retouched the mural and now it looks terrible, I have to leave town, I'll leave it like that for now, but when I come back I'll fix it,' explains Aznar. - But despite her goodwill, as the person in charge of the temple, I had to inform the mayor's office of Borja.
After that, local authorities came to the church to analyze what happened. They later published their findings on a blog. They were posted on Facebook, and Borja and its residents gained worldwide fame.
Spanish art experts are planning to hold a meeting in the church to discuss the restoration plan.
Juan Maria Oeda, a member of the city council for cultural affairs, which is involved in the case, said that the culprit is ready to meet with experts and tell them what materials she used.
"I think she [the pensioner] had the best intentions. If we fail to restore the mural, we will hang a photo of the work on the wall of the church," Oeda said.
The artistic value of the fresco is not very great, however local residents she was appreciated.
According to the BBC correspondent, as luck would have it, the local restoration center I just received a donation from the artist’s granddaughter, which was intended for the restoration of the fresco.