Virgin Mary Painting Restoration Goes Wrong, Inspires More Funny ‘Fixes’ Instead
Image via Wikimedia Commons
An art collector was left in a state of disarray after the face of the Virgin Mary was completely malformed after attempts to restore a copy of a 17th-century painting.
The private collector from Valencia had paid a furniture restorer €1,200 (US$1,348) to have the replica of baroque artist Bartolomé Esteban Murillo’s famous The Immaculate Conception of Los Venerables cleaned.
Unfortunately, the restorer’s first effort was disastrous, disfiguring the Holy Virgin’s face. The second attempt to correct it made it even worse.
Conservation experts in Spain have called for the tightening of laws in restoration following the botched job.
Fernando Carrera, a professor at the Galician School for the Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage, suggested that restorations should only be performed by trained individuals. “I don’t think this guy should be referred to as restorers. They are bodgers who botch things up. They destroy things,” he told The Guardian.
Following the terrible fixes, the Royal Academy of Arts took to Twitter to invite amateur artists to recover the copy of the artwork. “For today’s #RAdailydoodle, who can do a better job at restoring this copy of baroque artist Bartolomé Esteban Murillo’s The Immaculate Conception of Los Venerables?” it tweeted.
Social media users took up the challenge, and many came up with wacky sketches, including the artwork that Mr. Bean drew in the infamous scene from Bean: the Ultimate Disaster Movie.
For today's #RAdailydoodle, who can do a better job at restoring this copy of baroque artist Bartolomé Esteban Murillo’s 'The Immaculate Conception of Los Venerables'?
— Royal Academy (@royalacademy) June 23, 2020
(you can also start from scratch) pic.twitter.com/TXphAJr4JG
I'm so sorry. pic.twitter.com/jy1o1Au8CO
— Mark 🏴🏴🇪🇺 (@TheBeardyBoyo) June 23, 2020
— Drystone Wall Simulator (@drystone_game) June 23, 2020
— Jason Bennett 🏴 (@jaceb77) June 23, 2020
From one hot mess to another pic.twitter.com/Z0CrYlhtyy
— Paula🕷 (@hurryupwerlate) June 23, 2020
...not my own work... pic.twitter.com/jgoMO07iSb
— Charlie (@CharlieFarley91) June 23, 2020
— Josh Broom (@pennezellweger) June 23, 2020
— Royal Academy (@royalacademy) June 23, 2020
Here you go. pic.twitter.com/tPj6AwSnd3
— Smallbrainfield (@Smallbrainfield) June 23, 2020
"Happy Conception". pic.twitter.com/jgRx32wXgK
— ᴊ ɢ ᴄᴀʀᴅᴇɴ 🇪🇺 (@jason_carden) June 23, 2020
[via The Guardian, opening image via Wikimedia Commons]
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