Sunday Times 2
A fading fresco and a DIY fiasco
A pensioner who destroyed a 19th-century work of art in a DIY restoration job today insisted she had been given the go-ahead by a priest – and that she had not finished.Cecilia Gimenez was vilified after ruining a 120-year-old fresco of Christ by covering it with a thick layer of paint, with some accusing her of carrying out the work without permission.
But the volunteer church worker insisted she did have the priest’s blessing to carry out repairs on the Elias Garcia Martinez artwork Ecce Homo (Behold The Man).
 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 |
She added: ‘I had the best of intentions.’The image of Christ wearing a crown of thorns, displayed at a church near the city of Zaragoza, was described as resembling a monkey after Cecilia’s bid to restore it.
Now friends said she is suffering panic attacks and has been unable to leave her home, just yards from the church, after finding herself at the centre of a media storm.
She told Spanish TV: ‘We have always repaired everything ourselves here. The priest knew about it. Of course he did. ‘How could I do something like that without permission? I did not do it in secret. Anybody who entered the church was able to see me painting.
‘I had nothing but good intentions and always believed I was doing the right thing. Besides, I hadn’t finished the painting!’
Granddaughter Teresa Garcia Blanc, who is on holiday in the town, said: ‘They showed me what had been done to my grandfather’s artwork and at first I laughed because I thought it was a joke.
‘It was bad enough she painted the tunic. But the problem got worse when she started on the face, because the painting is now completely destroyed.’ The town hall said the have no plans to take legal action against the pensioner.
On Monday a group of expert restorers will examine the damage to the fresco and decide if it can be salvaged.
© Daily Mail, London
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