Ecce Homo (Behold the
Man)
The illustration shows ‘Ecce Homo’ by Elίas Garcίa Martίnez in
two forms. The image at the left shows the work as created by the artist over
100 years ago. The right-hand image shows it after an amateur artist, Cecilia
Giménez, 80 years old, attempted to restore it.
Image courtesy of Wikipedia
The fresco was not considered artistically important, but it
is considerably less highly regarded now. A BBC Europe correspondent said the
painting had become 'a sketch of a very hairy monkey in an
ill-fitting tunic.’
Let this be a warning to all – do not attempt restoration
unless you really know what you’re doing;-)
You can read more about it here and see an interview with the
lady who unwittingly destroyed a work of art:- (the video link may not work for all)
