Amateur artist tries to restore an ancient Jesus sculpture, and OMFG
For the love of Christ, someone stop these amateur artists.
Another botched restoration effort claimed an innocent religious relic. Like in the case of the failed Jesus fresco and Tintin St. George, an overzealous "artist" believed that she could restore a sculpture of the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus.
Although the sculpture, which dates back to the 15th century, had been restored by a professional just fifteen years ago, a resident of Rañadorio, Spain convinced the local clergy to let her spruce up the holy family. Instead of polishing the carving and restoring it to its reverent gleam, María Luisa Menéndez painted it, the Guardian reports.
Mary, baby Jesus, and Rañadorio's patron, St. Anne, all got a fresh makeover that includes garish neon robes, peachy skin, harsh eyeliner, and lipstick. Menéndez topped off the look by giving the whole trinity matching razor thin eyebrows. EYEBROWS!
St. Anne and mother Mary are draped in painfully bright fuchsia, mint, and deep red robes. Sweet baby Jesus, meanwhile, looks like a divine Skittle, or maybe a sanctified tennis ball.
To make matters worse, this wasn't the only sculpture the artist totally bungled. She also took it upon herself to paint a statuette of St. Peter and another of Mary and baby Jesus. Menéndez gave the Virgin Mary aquamarine hair in her attempt, and made heaven's gatekeeper crosseyed.
Luis Suárez Saro, a professional art conservator who restored the sculpture previously, was horrified at the update.
"They've used the kind of industrial enamel paint they sell for painting anything and absolutely garish and absurd colors," Saro told the Guardian. "The result is just staggering. You don't know whether to laugh or cry."
But Menéndez, who owns a local tobacco shop, defended her creation in El Comercio.
"I'm not a professional painter but I've always liked painting and the statues really needed painting," she said, completely ignoring the fact that the original carvings were left bare. "I painted them as best as I could using what I thought were the right colors. The neighbors liked them too."
Spain's association for conserving and restoring artwork denounced Menéndez's work as a "plunder," asking "what kind of society" allows its ancestors' legacy to be "passively destroyed."
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
The paint job drew comparisons to "Ecce Homo," better known as "Jesus Christ who let this happen?"
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
Seriously though, why isn't anyone checking these artists' resumes? At least ask for their portfolios before letting them wreck ancient art.
