Controversial Restoration of the Virgin Mary and Baby Jesus Statue in Valencia, Spain[Captured from Antonio Guzman’s Facebook][Image source = Yonhap News]
[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Eun-young] A 'Virgin Mary and Baby Jesus statue' in Palencia, Spain, has sparked controversy after being poorly restored to a look reminiscent of former U.S. President Donald Trump.
On the 10th, the British daily The Guardian reported that a statue on a 20th-century building in the northwestern Spanish city of Palencia was restored through a cultural heritage restoration project, sharing before-and-after photos of the statue.
The statue before restoration showed the face of a gentle woman. However, the face of the statue revealed after restoration bore no resemblance to the original. The Guardian pointed out, "The Virgin Mary, who once smiled beside livestock, now resembles U.S. President Donald Trump, dried cheese, or the 'Sand People' from Star Wars."
This laughable incident came to light when Antonio Guzman Capel, an artist living in Palencia, shared photos on his Facebook page on the 7th.
Posting the statue photos, Capel said, "Although the photo is blurry, you can tell someone played a prank," adding, "Palencia now has a tourist attraction comparable to the 'Monkey Jesus' mural in Borja."
He further criticized, "The person who did the restoration is at fault, but the one who commissioned it committed a greater crime."
The 'Monkey Jesus mural' he referred to is the 'Ecce Homo' (Jesus wearing a crown of thorns and suffering persecution) painting in Borja, which in 2012 was entrusted to an octogenarian parishioner and ended up looking like a monkey.
Upon hearing the news, Spanish restoration experts also criticized the Palencia authorities, tagging their posts with #IsNotARestoration.
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