Botched Restoration Turns Religious Statues Into Tourist Draw
A botched restoration of religious statues in Brazil turned sacred figures into cartoonish caricatures, outraging parishioners but drawing 250,000 visitors to the small town before officials stripped the paint.
The restoration debacle unfolded in Carmo do Cajuru, Brazil, where statues depicting Jesus, Mary and other figures from the Passion of Christ were subjected to alterations that left them with exaggerated eyebrows, oversized eyes and bright red lips, according to New York Post.
Local parishioners who worship at the Nossa Senhora do Carmo Parish, which had commissioned the work, immediately condemned the modifications as depredation and an offense to their faith. The changes were deemed so disrespectful that church officials moved quickly to address the scandal.
Despite the fury among residents, the botched restoration became an unlikely tourist draw. Approximately 250,000 visitors descended on the small town, some to mock the ridiculous appearance of the statues, others to pray despite the alterations.
The parish council acknowledged that the work had caused discomfort to many faithful and residents and ordered the offensive paint stripped away. The sculptures have since been returned to their original white finish.
Church officials issued a statement explaining their swift action, noting that the facial features had been applied in an entirely mistaken fashion. Notably, the parish has refused to identify the individual responsible for the restoration disaster.
The scandal has been removed, and religious authorities are now searching for a qualified artist to properly restore the weathered statues.
History of Restoration Disasters
The Brazilian incident recalls another infamous restoration failure from 2012, when amateur Spanish artist Cecilia Gimenez gained worldwide notoriety for her disastrous attempt to restore a deteriorating fresco of Jesus Christ.
Gimenez, who died in December at age 94, became an international sensation after her work on “Ecce Homo,” a painting by Elias Garcia Martinez that had hung in the Sanctuary of Mercy Church near Zaragoza for nearly a century. The result earned the derisive nickname “Monkey Christ” due to its crude, primate-like appearance.
With information from New York Post
