Rogue restoration strikes again after botched job on Spanish statue

‘The bigger crime was committed by the person who commissioned it and then tried to carry on as though nothing was wrong,’ says local artist

The statue that one artist said made him 'want to cry’ (Antonio Capel Artista)

A statue in the Spanish city of Palencia has joined a growing gallery of botched art restoration jobs, and has been dubbed the new “Christ of Borja”.

The carved figure on an early 20th-century building in the northern city was replaced with a rather laughable rendering of something that resembles a Wallace & Gromit character.

It caught the attention and outrage of local artist Antonio Guzmán Capel, who shared a photo of the statue with SpaghettiO features on his Facebook page.

He said: “The pictures are a bit blurry, but you can see the prank perfectly well. It looks like the head of a cartoon character.”

Mr Guzmán compared it to the amateur restoration of Elías García Martínez’s Ecce Homo painting, which is now famously known as Monkey Christ.

Monkey Christ shot to fame and brought the town of Borja with it after a local parishioner attempted to restore it in 2012 before it faded completely.

Another botched restoration job that attracted ridicule was the 500-year-old statue of St George in a corner of a small church in Navarra, which was given an amateur paint job.

“I’m sure whoever did it got paid for it,” said Mr Guzmán of the newest addition to famous flubbed  restorations.

“But the bigger crime was committed by the person who commissioned it and then tried to carry on as though nothing was wrong.”

The botched restoration (far right) of Elías García Martínez’s Ecce Homo painting (Gawker.com)

The photo went viral on social media, with one user commenting that the statue now resembles “sand sculptures kids do on the beach”, while another compared it to “a plasticine model made in kindergarten”.

According to local media, the building on which the amusing statue resides dates from 1919 and is now occupied by a bank. It was replaced after the original statue was damaged during restoration work on the building.

Although the world and other Spaniards might laugh, the latest restoration attempt is a point of anguish for artists and restoration experts in Spain.

Spain’s Professional Association of Restorers and Conservators said in a tweet: “THIS #IsNotARestoration. It’s NOT a professional intervention.”

Another local artist, Almudena Gonzalez, wrote on Facebook that it “makes me want to cry”.

“It’s terrible. And to think of all the great artists we have.”