5 Art Restorations Gone Wrong

Cecilia Giménez was suspected of vandalism in 2012 after she attempted to restore the Ecce Homo fresco of Jesus Christ in a Roman Catholic church in Borja, Spain. Giménez, an elderly parishioner of the Santuario de la Misericordia church, wanted to restore the fresco after moisture on the church’s walls caused some of the fresco’s paint to flake off. Artist Elías García Martínez had originally painted the fresco in 1930. Giménez’s restorations were so inconsistent with the original fresco that her work became known as “Monkey Christ,” and Borja authorities considered taking legal action against her.

A statue in Palencia, Spain, was restored in 2020 to reverse the damage from decades of weather erosion. Gracing the facade of a 1923 bank building on the Calle Mayor, the statue had depicted a smiling woman with livestock around her. But the restorer, who remains unknown, left the statue’s face so disfigured that it has been compared to the face of a cartoon character. Spain’s Professional Association of Restorers and Conservators (ACRE) condemned the restoration.

In 1998 Carlo Pedretti, a leading expert on Leonardo da Vinci’s work, identified an ink sketch by the artist that depicted Orpheus being attacked by the Furies. Pedretti had found the piece in a collection of prints and drawings owned by artist Stefano della Bella. Three years later, restorers attempted to loosen the sketch from its backing by dousing it in a solution of alcohol and distilled water, but they discovered that the solution had erased the yellow-green ink. Pedretti stated that he hoped the image could be recovered using some chemical procedure or even nuclear technology. No photos of the failed restoration have ever surfaced.

In 2017 the airport on Portugal’s Madeira Island was officially renamed Madeira International Airport—Cristiano Ronaldo in honor of the Madeiran-born association football (soccer) star. To mark the occasion, a bust of Ronaldo was unveiled, but it bore little resemblance to the player. Emanuel Santos, the artist who had sculpted it, insisted he had made changes to it consistent with Ronaldo’s request that the face appear smoother and more jovial. However, Santos was criticized—notably, on social media—for distorting the face so much that many could not recognize the sculpture’s subject.

A restoration of Leonardo da Vinci’s painting The Virgin and Child with St. Anne caused debate among art experts over its cleaning. The painting, which had probably been acquired in 1518 by Francis I of France, now resides in the Louvre. Like many other major art museums, the Louvre was under pressure to attract viewers with bright colors and striking masterpieces. In cleaning the St. Anne in 2010–11 to remove dirt and discoloration, it brightened the painting’s colors considerably. Indeed, many felt that the changes made to the work had been too dramatic, including two art experts who resigned in protest from the committee supervising the painting’s restoration.