Article Assignment 1

Katherine Borck

Ms Sudkamp

Sculpture, 4

03 September 1013

Restoration Failures

            In 2012 an 82-year-old in Spain by the name of Cecilia Gimenez ruined the historic art piece by Elias Garcia Martinez, the Ecce Homo. The destruction of Ecce Homo was a sad day for the artistry of restoration, yet not for the millions of people on the internet who found this hilarious. This is not the first or the last time an art piece has been ruined by those “restoring” it. In the online article The Worst Art Restoration Mistakes of All Time by Esther Inglis-Arkell, we find out that this isn’t the first time a restoration has gone wrong, and won’t be the last. Good art restoration takes talent, hard-to-find materials, and taking the time to recreate every detail that the original artist had made. Unfortunately, not everyone has the patience to do restoration the right way.

            In many former situations, historical art has been ruined by the so-called professionals; not to the extent of the Ecce Homo, but ruined nonetheless. Some examples of restoration blunders given by Inglis-Arkell in her article are The Virgin and Saint Anne, The Tree of Fertility, and Supper at Emmaus. Many times, like with The Virgin and Saint Anne, cleaning the art piece is what destroys it. Often the paint that causes the most important and beautiful details in the piece is washed away along with the dirt and grime, causing the painting to be blurry and multiple shades lighter. In other cases, such as the restoration of Supper at Emmaus (where the restoration artist “gave the woman a nose job”), the restoration artist changes the appearances of the original subjects of the painting. Whether it be the bad blunder of professional screw-ups or a old lady who is way too confident in her own painting abilities, these failed restorations are a unfortunate part of art today. Hopefully, someday soon, the restoring famous works of art will no longer end in unfortunate mishaps, but the preservation of glorious artworks to be loved throughout generations.  

 

Works Cited

Inglis-Arkell, Esther. "The Worst Art Restoration Mistakes of All Time." Io9. N.p., 28 Aug. 2012. Web. 03 Sept. 2013. <http://io9.com/5938377/the-worst-art-restoration-mistakes-of-all-time>.