# Fresco Restoration - Leave it to The Pros **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 22, 2012, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresco-restoration-leave-it-to-the-pros/632307 "2012-08-22T21:02:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Alka\_Seltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Alka\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alka_Seltzer)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2012, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresco-restoration-leave-it-to-the-pros/632307/1 "2012-08-22T21:02:18Z")
[Whoops](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-19349921). > [@](#): > > The woman, in her 80s, was reportedly upset at the way the fresco had deteriorated and took it on herself to “restore” the image. > > … > > The once-dignified portrait now resembles a crayon sketch of a very hairy monkey in an ill-fitting tunic, he says. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2012, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresco-restoration-leave-it-to-the-pros/632307/2 "2012-08-22T21:04:38Z")
Remember when Mr. Bean fixed Arrangement in Grey and Black No.1? ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2012, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresco-restoration-leave-it-to-the-pros/632307/3 "2012-08-23T03:52:18Z")
Oh God it’s made it “Over There”? People were talking about it at work and for some reason one of the things that was most remarked upon was “she’s erased the crown of thorns completely!”, never mind that there’s an ochre blur where the face should be. I saw the woman on the news, saying that she “hadn’t finished fixing it” as she’d had to go out of town (a trip with one of her children) and that the priest knew she wasn’t done. What I want to know is, what posessed the priest to let her even try. ---
**Author:** ![troubledwater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f4b2a3/32.png) [@troubledwater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/troubledwater)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2012, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresco-restoration-leave-it-to-the-pros/632307/4 "2012-08-23T04:16:24Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > What I want to know is, what posessed the priest to let her even try. Satan? ---
**Author:** ![JoseB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/joseb/32/1530_2.png) [@JoseB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoseB)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2012, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresco-restoration-leave-it-to-the-pros/632307/5 "2012-08-23T06:25:41Z")
OK, this is a piece of news that happened in Spain a few days ago. Initially I only found it in Spanish language media, and was busy translating the relevant articles, but then I saw that “The Guardian” published a piece about it, so here goes the link. > **[Spanish church mural ruined by well-intentioned restorer](https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2012/aug/22/spain-church-mural-ruin-restoration)** > > Ecce Homo painting by Elías García Martínez was unremarkable until transformation by well-intentioned but cack-handed amateur Words fail me. What possessed that lady to do that? What happened? HOW can you end up with something like _that_? Oh well. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2012, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresco-restoration-leave-it-to-the-pros/632307/6 "2012-08-23T06:31:57Z")
OK, that is fucking hilarious. I’ll bet that story is doing the rounds in the archival restoration community. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2012, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresco-restoration-leave-it-to-the-pros/632307/7 "2012-08-23T06:42:25Z")
[Earlier thread.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=15413834) ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2012, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresco-restoration-leave-it-to-the-pros/632307/8 "2012-08-23T06:49:39Z")
Jesus in muppet form. ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2012, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresco-restoration-leave-it-to-the-pros/632307/9 "2012-08-23T06:52:21Z")
The ‘before’ and ‘after’ sort of reminds me of those _bad_ portrait tattoos that you often see, where the photograph and tattoo are put side by side, and the tattoo looks like the subject is deformed. ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2012, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresco-restoration-leave-it-to-the-pros/632307/10 "2012-08-23T07:00:59Z")
So hilarious! Thanks for sharing. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2012, 9:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresco-restoration-leave-it-to-the-pros/632307/11 "2012-08-23T09:34:18Z")
Fozzie Bear died for our sins. ---
**Author:** ![One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/838e76/32.png) [@One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/One_And_Only_Wanderers)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2012, 9:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresco-restoration-leave-it-to-the-pros/632307/12 "2012-08-23T09:35:04Z")
Story on the BBC at the moment about an old dear who has attempted to restore a deteriorated fresco… with hilarious results > **[Spanish fresco restoration botched by amateur](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-19349921)** > > An elderly parishioner stuns Spanish cultural officials with an alarming do-it-yourself attempt to restore a prized fresco of Jesus Christ. I hope they can properly restore the fresco now and that it isn’t lost forever. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2012, 9:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresco-restoration-leave-it-to-the-pros/632307/13 "2012-08-23T09:35:35Z")
> [@troubledwater](#): > > Satan? Or the ghost of Francisco de Goya… aged 3. ---
**Author:** ![JoseB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/joseb/32/1530_2.png) [@JoseB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoseB)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2012, 9:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresco-restoration-leave-it-to-the-pros/632307/14 "2012-08-23T09:52:30Z")
There are already two separate threads about this… 🙂 [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=662934](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=662934) (\<– this is the oldest one) [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=662991](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=662991) ---
**Author:** ![Alka\_Seltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Alka\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alka_Seltzer)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2012, 9:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresco-restoration-leave-it-to-the-pros/632307/15 "2012-08-23T09:59:38Z")
I can see this meme catching on. Even as I write, I bet someone out there on the net is doing a “Last Supper” in the same style. ---
**Author:** ![JoseB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/joseb/32/1530_2.png) [@JoseB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoseB)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2012, 10:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresco-restoration-leave-it-to-the-pros/632307/16 "2012-08-23T10:03:23Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Or the ghost of Francisco de Goya… aged 3. So, something like this? [http://www.flickr.com/photos/wytrab8/6957402306/](http://www.flickr.com/photos/wytrab8/6957402306/) 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2012, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresco-restoration-leave-it-to-the-pros/632307/17 "2012-08-23T10:05:11Z")
That’s age 7 at least! ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2012, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresco-restoration-leave-it-to-the-pros/632307/18 "2012-08-23T13:13:24Z")
Merged three threads, so the continuity of the result may be a little wonky – as though fixed by a half-blind 80-year-old woman, in fact. ---
**Author:** ![phouka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c5a1d2/32.png) [@phouka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phouka)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2012, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresco-restoration-leave-it-to-the-pros/632307/19 "2012-08-23T13:40:22Z")
You know, I see the humor, but it’s the kind of laughing that could so easily turn into abject weeping. A hundred or more years old fresco turned into a joke. Whether or not it can be repaired will really depend on what type of paint the old woman used. Tempera can probably be washed off without damage. Acrylic, if it’s high quality, might actually peel off. Oil? I have no idea. I’m guessing enamel would be the worst. What a nightmare. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2012, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresco-restoration-leave-it-to-the-pros/632307/20 "2012-08-23T13:46:45Z")
What can I say, it looks better than a Picasso. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresco-restoration-leave-it-to-the-pros/632307.md?page=2)