Ecce Homo: Millennium Calling

Before, During and After: Ecce Homo by 19th-century painter Elías García Martínez on the walls of the church of Santuario de Misericordia. Image Source: Telegraph.

Do you ever get the feeling that the new Millennium is lost in translation? That the 21st century is a period when things which used to mean something now make no sense? Ecce Homo is a phrase from the bible attributed to Pontius Pilate when he presented a whipped Christ to the crowds. The phrase means, 'Behold the man.' The above 19th century Spanish painting of a tormented Christ by that name was destroyed by a well-meaning self-appointed amateur restorer. From the Telegraph:

Three separate photographs of Ecce Homo by painter Elias Garcia Martinez show extensive damage caused by an elderly woman who decided the masterpiece needed a little refurbishment.

But in a time of austerity, rather than calling in a professional to complete the job, the unnamed woman attempted to restore the mural herself – at a devastating cost.

 



The result was a botched repair where the intricate brush strokes of Martinez were replaced with a haphazard splattering of the octogenarian's paint. Years of carefully calculated depth of expression simply washed out by copious amounts of red and brown.

The damage was discovered after the 19th century painter's granddaughter made a donation to the Centro de Estudios Borjanos in Borja, Spain, a couple of weeks ago. The Centro holds an archive of regional religious paintings with regularly-updated photographs.

After receiving the donation, employees at the Centro went to check on the mural at the church of Santuario de Misericodia only to find it drastically altered."

Someone on the comments board wrote:  "Not bad for an amateur. He looks cuddly." Another person commented: "Not bad for a first attempt. This woman should be let loose in the national gallery. In a way it's an analogy and the woman can be compared with the people running the EU and the country and banks too. She deserves a big bonus. " (Hat tip: Gerry Duggan.)