The 19th century church fresco “destroyed” by a Spanish 80-year-old’s botched DIY paint job could be reversed in just seven minutes, it has been claimed.
There were fears Cecilia Giménez had caused irreparable damage when she marched, brush and oil paint in hand, into the tiny Santuario de Misericordia Church church in the town of Borja and daubed over Elías García Martínez’s “Ecce Homo” (“Behold the Man”) without permission.
But Prof. Maria Gomez, the University of Valencia art historian charged with restoring the piece to its former glory, said it should be “relatively simple” to rescue the piece.
She told the Spanish newspaper ABC that, from a technical point of view, the restoration of “Ecce Homo” should not pose any problems because “Cecilia’s repaint is still fresh and very diluted.”
In just seven minutes, she said, she could apply solvents to the canvas that would make the painting “appear as it was.” It would then take a further month to finish “protecting” the work.
Giménez shocked the world when, in August, she turned the 120-year-old fresco of Jesus Christ wearing a crown of thorns into what many have said now looks like a monkey.
News of her handiwork spread across the world, and led to the church, near Zaragoza, charging a $1.30 admission fee, earning it a staggering $26,000 in just four days.
This in turn saw Giménez consulting a legal team to explore copyrighting her rough renovation to retain future profits.
There is also an ongoing legal battle between Elías García’s family, who as the “physical owners” want to return the work to its original state and have contracted Gomez to do so, and Borja Town Council.
The council, custodians of the piece, wants it to remain as it is in order to continue generating tourist income for the town of just 5,000 residents.
Since its inception, her “art” has been spoofed around the world with many others seeking to cash in on the calamitous creation.
A Madrid bakery honored the work by squirting chocolate replicas on crepes, and it is available to buy as an investment in best-selling computer game The Sims.
Several smartphone apps have also sprung up, allowing users to “eccehomonise” themselves by “restoring” their pictures in a similar style.
And European budget airline Ryanair has launched a bargain $16 flight for tourists to travel to Zaragoza from any of their airports to see the “creative restoration.”
