The word "restoration" comes from the Latin "restauratio", which means "restoration". It will not be possible to simply tint or cover it up, otherwise the cultural monument may be damaged and even destroyed.

One of the textbook examples of improper restoration is the restoration of the Parthenon at the beginning of the 20th century. We wanted the best, we tried, but we had the wrong materials, the wrong tools, and not very careful work with the debris. As a result, some of the objects were destroyed rather than restored. Almost a hundred years have passed since then, and... nothing has changed.

MatRer word

Matrera Castle beautifully, if not very reliably, guarded the expanses of the Spanish province of Cadiz from the 9th century until 2013, when heavy rains (and tourists) led to the collapse of the central tower. Local authorities urgently attended to the repair of the national monument. Three years later, the castle was unrecognizable: beautiful, new! And... in March 2016, a scandal broke out.

This is a new word in restoration, and it’s an obscene word. Local residents mentioned both the authorities and the restorers to them, and then specialists got down to business, having lost an important object of research. The restorers themselves explained that all the requirements of Spanish legislation were met. Their result is safe to visit, demonstrates the original size of the tower, the textures and colors of the original materials, and clearly separates the preserved elements from the new build. The architect even received a professional award for this work.

And in 2002, builders managed to demolish the house of Isidore of Madrid, the patron saint of the Spanish capital, which had stood there for about nine hundred years. It seems that these Spaniards have a grandfather who works in the old castle factory. They just have tons of these old castles. So they demolish anything.

"Furry Jesus"

And again we will talk about Spain. One of the few attractions of the small town of Borja was the fresco of Jesus Christ crowned with thorns by Elias García Martínez.

In 2010, 83-year-old parishioner Cecilia Jimenez, with the consent of the rector, took on the task of restoring the fresco, which, although it was the same age as the “artist” and (also?) began to crumble, still looked better. This had to be fixed.

The result became public in 2012 and exceeded all expectations. Wits began to call the fresco “Furry Jesus” or “Ecce Mono” (“Here is the monkey”). The old woman attributed her creative vision to her lack of experience and the disgusting lighting in the church. The rector of the church, frowning, remained silent.

Every cloud has a silver lining. The fresco in its original state was of interest only to art critics, but “Furry Jesus” attracted literally crowds of tourists to the town, providing local residents and Cecilia herself with work, the church with income from visits, and those who like to laugh with a huge number of caricatures and photoshoppers.

The Barber of Cairo

The broken off nose of the Sphinx was not enough for the Egyptians. In the summer of 2014, during the process of moving exhibits to the Cairo Museum, the beard somehow fell off of the priceless funeral mask of Tutankhamun. To solve the problem, one of the workers came up with the idea of ​​gluing everything back, but more reliably. What could be more reliable than epoxy resin?

Of course, it didn’t work out neatly, and the would-be restorer, following his school habit, scraped off the drops of glue with a scalpel, leaving beautiful and noticeable scratches on the pressed gold. By the way, before this procedure, the beard was separated from the mask and attached to a special sleeve, which could be restored without much difficulty.

Alas, epoxy resin can only be separated with a layer of metal, and historians are not yet ready to do this. However, it’s possible that the next time you move the mask, they’ll drop the mask again and the beard will break off again... The main thing is that they don’t fix it themselves.

True, there was some good news. Scientists very carefully examined the mask for other damage and found that, with a high degree of probability, it was originally intended for Nefertiti. Unless, of course, this inscription with a felt-tip pen is original...

SpongeBob in Minecraft style

Turkish resorts do not tolerate disrepair, so in 2010 the authorities of the Istanbul suburb of Şile decided to restore a two-thousand-year-old Byzantine fortress, picturesquely collapsed on a coastal island.

In August 2015, the restoration led to proceedings in the Turkish parliament and an investigation, and foreign tourists, as if by agreement, began to compare the fortress with SpongeBob SquarePants. Why not? Many resort towns can be called "Bikini Bottom". Schiele is now in the forefront of the renaming effort.

The municipal workers themselves indignantly explained to journalists that it was a shame to look at the crumbling fortress, but now it is like new... I mean, really new.

Funny pictures

The municipal authorities of Chaoyang District simply did not have enough money to hire professional restorers for the Yongzhi Temple complex. Or maybe they chose restorers based on the principle of “whose kung fu is better.” And I was too lazy to monitor the progress of the work. What is there to watch for? This is just a hall with frescoes, and not the house-museum of Comrade Mao.

As a result, in 2013, instead of restored frescoes from the Qing Dynasty, temple visitors saw bright but sloppily drawn scenes from Buddhist legends that had nothing in common with the original drawings.

The culprits were fired, but after this “restoration”, restoring the old frescoes, if at all possible, costs significantly more than the amount saved. By the way, this is a rare case when the head of a district party cell was reprimanded for damaging religious objects.

Neutered tree

In 2011, several restorers were accused of censoring a 700-year-old Roman fresco, The Tree of Fertility, by removing several dangling phalluses from the painting. Journalists called the tree castrated.

The restorers themselves did not deny the disappearance of the organs, saying that if something dissolved during the cleaning process, it was absolutely by accident, since the fresco was in very poor condition. And in general, who cares how much of what was hanging there initially? And someone was not too lazy and calculated that before the restoration there were exactly 25 hanging down. Yes, the leader of the local Communist Party cell was not injured.

Illuminated thoughts

Repeatedly, the Louvre management was offered to clean the da Vinci painting, but until 2011 it was impregnable. However, water wears away the stone, and the solvent, meanwhile, brightens the picture. When the result became visible, British restorers began to claim that they had discovered the true artistic design da Vinci, and the Louvre management opened a bottle of valerian. It was officially stated that the result was satisfactory, but two members of the advisory committee that oversaw the work on the painting resigned in protest. Experts are still arguing about the acceptability of such a restoration.

Strange angel

The apartment building of Panteleimon Badaev is known to both St. Petersburg residents and tourists. Moreover, at the World Exhibition in Paris he was awarded a gold medal. Not every person here receives a medal, and the house rarely does that. Unfortunately, the medal bearer did not survive the war in all his splendor: he was hit by a shell. After renovation in the 50s, the Art Nouveau house became a communal apartment, which is also not in the best possible way affected his condition.

In 2013, they decided to restore the house. Suddenly, historians noticed that one of the parts of the bas-relief, depicting the nymph of music, changed in her face.

The organizers of the repair claimed that they did not carry out any restoration of the bas-relief and that it came to them in this form initially, but they also did not undertake to restore it. They don't have talent. The authors of the “masterpiece,” who worked on the appearance of the house somewhere between 2008 and 2013, were never found, and the locals nicknamed it the “Steppe Maiden.” The steppe maidens, in turn, call the changed nymph a “native Petersburg woman.”

Saturn Mercury is almost invisible

In August 2015, Moscow was preparing for the city’s birthday, and Myasnitskaya Street received a very strange gift.

The face of the god Mercury on the bas-relief of the Kuznetsov Trading House was surprisingly transformed. The majority decided that the legendary restorer of the Badaev house had come to Moscow on tour, although perhaps the god of trade was warped by the prices he saw for repairs in Moscow. Whether this is true or not, the damage was done, and the authorities promised to return it to the way it was. Well, or at least find a prettier sitter.

Admiralty freaks

In 2011, when examining the tower of the main building of the Admiralty, restorers discovered most interesting creatures, which could be attributed to any genre except classicism. Of the 28 antique figures, only one remains in close to its original form, and the rest...

The restoration of the fresco Ecce Homo (“Behold the Man”) in our time is far from the only example of unsuccessful restoration. Not long ago, the Louvre was accused of poor quality restoration of Leonardo da Vinci’s painting “St. Anne with the Madonna and Child Christ” (1510), after which both restorers submitted their resignations from the museum.

At the Prado Museum, during the restoration of El Greco’s painting “Portrait of a Cavalier with His Hand on His Chest” (1577-1579), the artist’s name at the bottom of the painting was erased.

Until now, the palm belonged to former prime minister Italy Silvio Berlusconi, who “sewed” missing body parts to Venus and Mars (). Then art experts called this act tasteless and aesthetically incorrect, and some even equated Berlusconi’s decision to vandalism.

On August 21, a small article appeared in the Spanish edition of Heraldo, which reported how terrible the resident small town Borja restored the Ecce Homo fresco painted by the artist Elias Garcia Martinez and located in the Temple of Mercy. Before this, the name of Cecilia Jimenez was unknown to anyone, just as few people knew about the existence of the city of Borja with a population of only 5,000 inhabitants and about the picture itself, which the whole world is now talking about.

The story of the “most terrible restoration” was picked up by all the world’s media, and it turned into a real triumph for the author of the fresco. Indeed, until this moment, the name of the artist Elias García Martinez was known only to a narrow circle of specialists. He was born in the municipality of Requena in 1858, where he began to draw, then studied painting at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of St. Carlos, then went to Barcelona, ​​and then to Zaragoza. In Zaragoza, the artist married and taught at the School of Art. He died there.

The artistic value of the fresco is not very great, but local residents appreciated it. She did not leave Cecilia indifferent either. According to her, the constantly deteriorating condition of the fresco, caused by high humidity in the room, was very frustrating for her. Then the idea of ​​restoration arose.

Now, however, the “restorer” assures that the idea to restore the painting did not belong to her, but to the priest: “The priest, of course, knew about it. Of course, I worked because I was asked to do so. Of course, everyone knew what I was doing. When people came to church, they saw me drawing. The abbot knew. How could I do such things without permission?

But church officials insist they knew nothing about artistic work his elderly parishioner. According to them, she decided to restore it on her own and began work in 2010. It’s hard to believe that all these two years no one paid attention to what the woman was doing, despite the fact that there is a security guard constantly on duty in the church.

Cecilia Jimenez has been drawing since early childhood. And this, by the way, is not the first time that she restores paintings for her native village, but until now there have been no complaints about her.

“I have a lot of works, some better, others worse, but they were all done with great love,” says Cecilia in an interview with a journalist from the Spanish El Mundo. She has organized more than once personal exhibitions, and for all my creative career She even managed to sell about 40 paintings.

Cecilia was on vacation when the scandal broke, and when she returned to Borja she was unpleasantly surprised. Surprise was replaced by depression. Such close attention to her own person and fierce criticism did not pass without a trace for her - soon there were reports in the press that the woman had become depressed, she refused to eat and did not want to get out of bed. “If you think that I have sinned by committing this act, then I ask for your forgiveness... I ask for forgiveness...”

Cecilia's life was extremely difficult. She became a widow early and had to raise two disabled children. One of them died, and the other, 60 years old, still lives with her. The woman always preferred solitude and led a reclusive lifestyle.

“She went to mass every day and helped in the church, like other women in the village. She painted simple paintings of flowers and landscapes... she led a very modest life,” says one of Cecilia’s acquaintances.

“I don’t regret starting the restoration. I regret that I couldn’t finish it to the end,” says Cecilia herself.

As a result of its restoration, Jesus now looks more like a monkey: the crown of thorns and hair resemble fur, the eyes and nose are deformed, and the mouth is a spot of an incomprehensible shape. The result of the work was discovered by employees of the center for the protection of monuments, who received a charitable contribution for the restoration of the fresco from the great-granddaughter of Elias García Martinez.

“I couldn’t imagine that everything would end like this. I didn’t want this,” Cecilia justifies herself. The woman claims that she used only the best paints: “I paint my paintings with them myself.”

A brave deed parishioners of the Temple of Mercy caused an information storm throughout the world. Both journalists and social media Señora Jimenez did not ignore this initiative.

Some attacked the old woman with severe criticism, others came to the defense of the elderly Spaniard, calling her the new Goya, Munch and Modigliani rolled into one.

There was even a petition on change.org in defense of the restored Jesus, which has already been signed by over 10,000 people. The authors of the petition state the following: “Spanish cultural figures want to remake a radical reworking of the clichéd image of Christ by Elias García Martínez<...>. This is a huge mistake as the new image is a cultural treasure and should be preserved."

The creation of an elderly Spanish woman in just a few hours became one of the most popular Internet memes. In Madrid, at the San Miguel market, they even made a pancake with an edible image of a fresco restored beyond recognition.

Residents of the town are very grateful to Cecilia because, thanks to her, their hometown appeared on the world map. "She good man, this situation broke her. We must not forget that Cecilia is an elderly person, and we all advised her to avoid contact with the press. It’s normal that she tries to defend herself, but it all ends with her arguing with our priest, with Elias Garcia’s family and, as a result, she suffers a lot,” says one of Cecilia’s neighbors.

“We should all support her and decided that each of us would bring a flower to Cecilia’s garden. This way we will show our support for her,” says another.

“I am very grateful to all the residents of Borja. I feel their support and love,” says Cecilia.

The restored fresco attracted people to the city big number tourists. Hundreds of curious people lined up at the Temple of Mercy. To avoid damage to the fresco due to the influx of tourists, guards were posted next to it.

Seeing such a stir, the city authorities now want to officially register the Ecce Homo brand and formalize all the rights.

But at the same time, the city council does not rule out that a criminal case will be opened against the old woman for illegal actions in relation to the facility cultural heritage. However, representatives of the city administration admit that this situation is quite “delicate.”

Many government officials also came to Cecilia's defense. “We think she did it with the best intentions. Next week she will meet with the restorer and tell her what materials she used,” cultural adviser Juan Maria Ojeda told El Pais.

The final decision on restoration will be made no earlier than in two weeks.

» in original form (left)
and after “restoration” (right)

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Excerpt describing Furry Jesus

80-year-old amateur artist Cecilia Giménez had nothing but good intentions, when I turned my attention to a fresco depicting Jesus Christ on the wall in the Church of Mercy in a small town that had deteriorated over time. spanish city Borja.

The mural, entitled "Ecce Homo" (meaning "Here is the man"), was created by Spanish artist Elías García Martínez in 1930. Although this work, according to the general opinion in the press, had "little artistic value", because "Martinez is not a great artist, and his painting "Ecce Homo" is not a "masterpiece", the fresco nevertheless acquired some sentimental value among the local population.

So, when the original paint on the fresco began to peel, Cecilia Jimenez, who had no special training, took on the task of restoring the aging piece of art.

The damaged fresco "Ecce Homo" on the left and its "restored" version on the right.

Jimenez touched up the painting stroke by stroke for several years with the knowledge of the parish priest and church guards, until one day in the summer of 2012 she decided that the fresco needed a major restoration. In the middle of the "restoration process", Jimenez went on vacation because the work took much longer than she expected. The woman intended to complete it upon her return, but, for better or worse, she never got the chance again.

By the time she returned from vacation, the general public had learned of her failed efforts, and Jimenez had become a worldwide laughing stock. The failed restoration became main theme on the Internet, giving rise to many memes and jokes on the World Wide Web. Journalists compared the restoration to how famous character Mr. Bean, played by Rowan Atkinson, ruined the film "Whistler's Mother". Some compared the painting to a blurry image of a potato and a monkey. Others called her "Furry Jesus" and "Ecce Mono" ("Behold the Monkey").

Jimenez felt so humiliated that she cried for days and refused to eat, according to her family. As a result, the woman had to seek help from a psychiatrist and take medication. At some point, the heirs of Garcia Martinez threatened to sue Cecilia Jimenez for damaging the painting, but, fortunately for her, they did not follow through.

The original intact painting (left), the damaged painting (middle), and Cecilia Jimenez's restoration (right).

Nowadays, in a strange twist of fate, the small, little-known town of Borja has suddenly appeared on the international tourist route. Every year, tens of thousands of curious visitors with a strange sense of humor come from far corners of the world to witness the tragic fiasco for themselves and go home with various souvenirs such as mugs and T-shirts featuring the "new and improved" Ecce Homo mural.

Cecilia Jimenez, whose failed attempt to restore a church painting once drew mockery and ridicule, is now a local celebrity. She presents prizes in a competition for young artists who paint their own versions of "Ecce Homo." People recognize her on the street and shout: "It's Cecilia! It's Cecilia!" It even has 49% of the revenue from the sale of souvenirs. The rest goes to the family of the artist Martinez.

Cecilia Jimenez may not have been able to restore the painting, but she managed to revive the destiny of her city. The influx of tourists has helped stabilize Borja's economy, reeling from the economic downturn that has plagued the rest of Spain over the past few years.

"For me it's a story of faith," said Andrew Flack, the opera librettist who wrote a comic opera about how one woman defaced a fresco and saved the city. "It's a miracle how she was able to help tourism flourish!"

“Why do people come to look at the fresco if it is such a work of art?” he asks. “This is a kind of pilgrimage, transformed by the media into a phenomenon. The ways of God are mysterious. Your catastrophe may turn into a miracle for me.”

Mr. Bean's "Restored" painting by James McNeill Whistler "Arrangement in Gray and Black: The Artist's Mother" from the film "Mr. Bean", 1997

Assortment of souvenirs "Ecce Homo".

A collection of Internet memes about the failed restoration of the "Ecce Homo" fresco.

Tourists line up to look at the church painting "Ecce Homo" on the altar at the Shrine of Mercy in Borja, Spain.

In 2012, a rather curious scandal occurred in the art world: everyone rushed to repost the news about the Spanish pensioner Cecilia Jimenez, who “restored” a fresco from the beginning of the 20th century.

The mural, entitled Ecce Homo (“Behold the Man”), was a local landmark in the small Spanish town of Borja. It was indeed in a deplorable state, but the result of the work of the self-proclaimed restorer both horrified and amused the public. Instead of the face of Christ, from the wall of the temple there was now, as a BBC correspondent put it, “a monkey in an ill-fitting jacket.” On the Internet, the pensioner’s work has also become known as “Furry Jesus.”

Ironically, a relative of the author of the fresco, the artist Elias Garcia Martinez, sent funds to the temple to restore its work, but the help was late: by that time Jimenez had already managed to complete what she started. The news spread across all news channels around the world, and instantly acquired the status of a meme on the Internet, provoking an avalanche of cartoons.

Under a barrage of condemnation from the press, church ministers rushed to make excuses, fenced off the “scene of the incident” and organized a committee to restore the fresco.

But then things took an unexpected turn: crowds of tourists poured into a hitherto unknown town with a population of 5 thousand people and reigning unemployment!

The city's income increased significantly, and the church, not at a loss, again opened access to the fresco and began charging visitors an entrance fee. Cecilia Jimenez, who at first asked for forgiveness for her vandalism, also changed her attitude to the situation, hired a lawyer and began to demand royalties for her work.