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Church masterpiece 'restored' as Mr. Bean would do it
The efforts of an elderly parishioner to restore a 120-year-old fresco on a column inside a Spanish church have some wondering if a Mr. Bean movie was the inspiration for the effort.
The fresco, titled Ecce Homo (Behold the Man), is a depiction of Jesus Christ with a crown of thorns. It was painted on a wall of the Sanctuary of Mercy at Borja, near Zaragoza, Spain, by artist Elias Garcia Martinez more than a century ago.
Its troubling "restoration" occurred after the local Center for Borja Studies received the donation of a canvas done by Garcia from one his granddaughters who lives nearby, according to the center's blog.
Center staff noted that the only other known work by Garcia in the area was Ecce Homo, went to the church to photograph the fresco, and realized it was in bad shape.
Parishioner Cecilia Giménez said she was asked by the church to fix things up.
“The priest was aware … he knew,” she is quoted as saying in a report on Euronews.com. “Of course I did it because I was told to do it."
In its blog, the center expresses "astonishment" that "an intervention was done" on the painting.
"As unbelievable as it sounds, this is what remains of the work of an artist whose relatives still live in our city," the blog reads.
Giménez said her work was done in the open and nobody tried to stop her, according to Euronews.
"Everybody that came into the church saw me. I never tried to hide,” she is quoted as saying.
"Clearly, she has destroyed the painting," Garcia's granddaughter, Teresa Garcia, is quoted as saying.
The center says it doesn't know if the "restoration" can be fixed.
"We don’t know if this indescribable act has a solution, but there is no doubt that someone should adopt strict measures so that there is not a repetition of acts like this, which despite its intentions, should be strongly condemned," its blog says.
But in reader comments on the blog, some wonder whether the "restoration" is a repetition of a previous act, one from the 1997 Rowan Atkinson film "Bean."
“Something similar happened in the movie Mr. Bean. … It probably inspired whoever did this,” one commenter writes.
In the movie, Mr. Bean accidentally sneezes on the masterpiece "Whistler's Mother" and attempts a crude repair.
["cnn-video url=http://youtu.be/NQevyIy8hzs"]
The Ecce Homo "restoration" is arguably better than Bean's line drawing, and that might be just as well, because there's doubt that Ecce Homo can be returned to its original splendor. And at least one commenter on the blog sees a silver lining.
"I think that the city of Borja should conserve the painting in its current state," the person writes. "It could become a tourist attraction for the town.”
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Holy Jesus, that is funny!
MR BEAN! i didnt know he was a professional now haha
This was one of hte best laughs my family and I ever had I bet that lady brought that town some VERY much needed tourism and attention. At least she tried and did it in good faith!! Its great leave it so my kids and i can go see it some day and remember the FUN!!
“Of course I did it because I was told to do it."
What evil has been done with just that as a reason?!
I'm still waiting for the part where this turns out to be part of Borat's new movie.
An irreplaceable work of art is forever destroyed and one moron after another describes it as," Funny" and "Something
I want my kids to see someday". Pathetic.
Don't take it so seriously...it's nice when people are happy- no matter the reason...
The original is beautiful. I've never seen it before, but am now glad this came to light.
Capturing Jesus Christ"s complete look of love and resignation in the most heroic life ever lived.
Work of art, hope it gets restored.
Mr. Bean movie, very funny.
why would they ruin such i beautiful thing with someone like that painting!!! At LEAST have a porfessional!
in the 1980's I was running around a Museum with a big ass old fashioned VHS video camera and my very young nephew.
Slightly above my waist was a "Priceless" vase on a stand with a glass top. I bumped into it...kind of hard. Just didn't see it.
I looked down and this vase was just rocking. We very quickly went to another part of the building. An alarm went off, but it didn't tip over or break.
I still have the tape.
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It is so funny, how anything damaged so badly if they are already restored. water damage restoration San Diego
That's true Holy Inspiration!
Amen!