New York City, N.Y., Nov 10, 2016 / 06:01 am
It's a bit of church news you're not likely to have forgotten.
Four years ago in the little town of Borja, Spain, there was a case of thought-to-be vandalism that turned out to be an unfortunate attempt at art restoration.
Cecilia Giminez, an elderly Spanish woman, created a well-intentioned but regrettably executed restoration of Ecce Homo (or 'Behold the Man'), a fresco painting of Jesus before he is nailed to the cross.
The original painting, found in the Catholic Church of Our Lady of Mercy in Borja, showed Jesus in a robe with the crown of thorns on his head, glancing heavenward in agony, which had begun to wear over time. However, after Giminez's touch-up, the painting looked almost inhuman - more like a monkey or a werewolf, with shapeless and fuzzy features.