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Be careful who does YOUR art restoration and framing!

by Sierra Sparks on 07/14/15

It was supposed to be the grand restoration of a historic painting of Jesus Christ. 

But instead it ended up being likened to a crayon sketch of a very hairy monkey. 

However, the 82-year-old artist accused of ruining the 1910 depiction of Christ called Ecce Homo has had the last laugh. 

Before and... after: The Garcia Martinez artwork Ecce Homo (Behold The Man) before, left, and after, right, it was worked on by Gimenez. Damp had severely damaged the original

Before and... after: The Garcia Martinez artwork Ecce Homo (Behold The Man) before, left, and after, right, it was worked on by Gimenez. Damp had severely damaged the original

 

Original: The Martinez fresco before water damage and Cecilia Gimenez combined to turn it into 'Christ The Irredeemable'

Original: The Martinez fresco before water damage and Cecilia Gimenez combined to turn it into 'Christ The Irredeemable'

The fresco became such a massive tourist attraction at the Misericordia Church in Borja, north eastern Spain, officials began charging people one euro to look at the piece of art.

Just one year on, the church has made £57,000 from ticket sales which has been used to improve the building and cover other costs.

Artist Cecilia Gimenez has also came to an agreement with the foundation over image rights.

Panic attacks: Cecilia Gimenez, 81, has not been able to leave her home after coming under fire for 'ruining' image of Jesus in the city of Zaragoza

Panic attacks: Cecilia Gimenez, 81, has not been able to leave her home after coming under fire for 'ruining' image of Jesus in the city of Zaragoza

She is entitled to 49 per cent of profits generated from the restored Ecce Homo. 

The amusing image has even been imprinted on T-shirts, mugs and key-chains.

Gimenez has pledged to donate her share of the money to fund charitable work. 

'No one is going to get rich out of this,' Gimenez's lawyer told AFP.  'The foundation and Cecilia are to give the profits to charity.' 

Gimenez had earlier said she wanted to donate the money to charities for muscular atrophy, a condition affecting her son.

However the deal has not impressed descendants of the original painter Garcia Martinez.

Martinez's family withheld their consent because they wanted to see the painting returned to its original state, according to Borja's deputy mayor Juan Maria Ojeda.

The whole saga is reminiscent of the Bean film in 1997, when Rowan Atkinson's hapless character totally destroys the James McNeill Whistler's painting - colloquially known as 'Whistler's Mother'.


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