# 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:** 17\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresco-restoration-leave-it-to-the-pros/632307/41 "2012-08-24T11:35:06Z")
> [@phouka](#): > > 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. Enh. The world is full of sappy-eyed Jesus paintings. Now it’s a comment on human fallibility and good intentions. The title is more appropriate than ever. _Now_ - it’s _art_. > [@JoseB](#): > > And, indeed, they _already_ have done the “Last Supper” in that style: > > [All sizes | ultimacena | Flickr - Photo Sharing!](http://www.flickr.com/photos/27806063@N05/7844502436/sizes/l/in/photostream/) Oh man, I almost died when I looked at that link. WARNING: SWALLOW YOUR BAGEL FIRST!! ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresco-restoration-leave-it-to-the-pros/632307/42 "2012-08-24T11:55:47Z")
She was making an artistic statement. Silly people, worshipping these portrayals of Jesus as if they ARE Jesus! By desecrating the image, she’s telling us to stop focusing on the superficial. Paint and plaster are ephemeral and thus inconsequential. Only when you realize this can you become free. ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresco-restoration-leave-it-to-the-pros/632307/43 "2012-08-24T12:31:18Z")
That’s true, but not actually my point. I don’t think she deliberately desecrated the painting. In fact, I wouldn’t use the word “desecrated” because the painting was not a sacred object (as opposed to having a sacred subject). I don’t think the current state of the work is making a religious statement, ala, _Piss Christ_ (which, honestly, I find rather jejune.) But I do think she made an artistic statement - just not the one she was trying for. It’s her attempt to reach well beyond her grasp that intrigues me. Her statement, in context, is more interesting (and maybe even more honest) than the original work, imo, despite the obvious technical superiority of the original. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresco-restoration-leave-it-to-the-pros/632307/44 "2012-08-24T12:36:55Z")
Well, that pretty much puts the last nail in Christianity, if Jesus was a Sloth. ---
**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 24, 2012, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresco-restoration-leave-it-to-the-pros/632307/45 "2012-08-24T12:46:25Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > She was making an artistic statement. Silly people, worshipping these portrayals of Jesus as if they ARE Jesus! By desecrating the image, she’s telling us to stop focusing on the superficial. Paint and plaster are ephemeral and thus inconsequential. Only when you realize this can you become free. I see the woman responsible now has been named, Cecilia Giménez. Personally, I don’t think she was making some sort of political statement, but that she is a massive fan of the TV series [Monkey](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K25QkogsjH0). ---
**Author:** ![APB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e8cbc/32.png) [@APB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/APB)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresco-restoration-leave-it-to-the-pros/632307/46 "2012-08-24T19:00:37Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > 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. One does so much hope that the church authorities take her up on this and insist that she now ‘finish’ it. The result would surely be just as hilarious! And, as she’s clearly already smothered it all in a thick layer of paint, it’s not as if she would be doing any more damage to the original painting. ---
**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:** [September 21, 2012, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresco-restoration-leave-it-to-the-pros/632307/47 "2012-09-21T12:01:21Z")
In a fantastic twist to this story the restorer, Cecilia Giménez, is now [demanding royalties](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-19674622). ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2012, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresco-restoration-leave-it-to-the-pros/632307/48 "2012-09-22T01:41:21Z")
> [@An\_Arky](#): > > Well, that pretty much puts the last nail in Christianity, if Jesus was a Sloth. I’m pretty certain an unknown Roman soldier put the last nail in Christianity. Probably in the left wrist. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2012, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresco-restoration-leave-it-to-the-pros/632307/49 "2012-09-22T03:18:25Z")
> [@Alka\_Seltzer](#): > > In a fantastic twist to this story the restorer, Cecilia Giménez, is now [demanding royalties](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-19674622). Yeah, I heard about that. “I ruined a 100-year-old painting, that you’re going to have to pay to fix. NOW PAY ME FOR IT!!!” (And who cares if it was a painting of Jesus or not? She ruined a painting that wasn’t her’s to ruin, and now she wants to be paid for it? WTF?) ---
**Author:** ![dwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwyr/32/363_2.png) [@dwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwyr)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2012, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresco-restoration-leave-it-to-the-pros/632307/50 "2012-09-22T04:35:19Z")
She’s saying that since the painting has become such a big draw with people coming from all over to see it, she should get some money for making it happen. She claims she would give the money to charity. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2012, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresco-restoration-leave-it-to-the-pros/632307/51 "2012-09-22T04:40:42Z")
I think a fresco that “… resembles a crayon sketch of a very hairy monkey in an ill-fitting tunic …” is much better for a church than just another Jesus pic. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2012, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresco-restoration-leave-it-to-the-pros/632307/52 "2012-09-22T06:12:42Z")
“Our sloth, who art in heaven, hairy be thy mane.” ---
**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:** [September 22, 2012, 9:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresco-restoration-leave-it-to-the-pros/632307/53 "2012-09-22T09:40:32Z")
In breaking news, Cecilia Giménez is off to Hollywood. Mel Gibson has asked her to work as art director on his sequel _Return to the Planet of the Passion of the Apes_. She’s agreed, on the condition that someone helps her do the feet, which she’s always had trouble with. ---
**Author:** ![dogbutler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dogbutler/32/428_2.png) [@dogbutler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dogbutler)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2012, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresco-restoration-leave-it-to-the-pros/632307/54 "2012-09-22T12:26:16Z")
> [@An\_Arky](#): > > Well, that pretty much puts the last nail in Christianity, if Jesus was a Sloth. It would explain why the Second Coming is taking so long. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2012, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresco-restoration-leave-it-to-the-pros/632307/55 "2012-09-22T22:40:20Z")
Actually, I think Jesus looks more like a [Slow Loris](http://www.pueblozoo.org/archives/may05/images/loris.jpg). Compare to [painting.](http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://thumbnails.cbc.ca/maven_legacy/thumbnails/14/817/spain-fresco-restore-cullen-082312_lead_media_image_1.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.cbc.ca/player/News/TV%2BShows/The%2BNational/Worth%2BA%2BWatch/ID/2279897597/?sort%3DMostPopular&h=350&w=620&sz=24&tbnid=NjQ8rVGd6S-zKM:&tbnh=66&tbnw=117&zoom=1&usg=__WvXv37rp83TM_O_5EUp3FkZFxTE=&docid=Co_8-_mxSAFGxM&sa=X&ei=2j1eUJT9E63-2QX0s4DYCw&ved=0CDgQ9QEwBw&dur=3830) StG ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresco-restoration-leave-it-to-the-pros/632307/56 "2013-08-13T20:49:32Z")
It seems that Ms. Gimenez has reaped financial success from her outing into the world of amateur fresco-painting: > **[Yahoo News: Latest and Breaking News, Headlines, Live Updates, and More](https://news.yahoo.com/)** > > The latest news and headlines from Yahoo News. Get breaking news stories and in-depth coverage with videos and photos. > [@](#): > > MADRID (AP) — A year ago, Cecilia Gimenez’s botched attempt to restore a fresco of Christ inspired ridicule and references to monkeys. Now, the 81-year-old Spanish artist is having the last laugh. > > The disfigured fresco has drawn more than 40,000 visitors and raised more than 50,000 euros ($66,285) for a local charity in the town of Borja since gaining worldwide attention. It has spurred the town to put the likeness on merchandise it hopes will sell for years to come. And Gimenez has even had her own art exhibit, with two dozen of her other works showing through Aug. 24 in the town of 5,000. > > Gimenez and a local council are to sign a deal next week to share profits from merchandise featuring the image, with the artist getting 49 percent and the council the rest, said councilor Juan Maria Ojeda, who listed the tourism and income figures. > > The turnaround is apparently quite the relief for the Spanish retiree, who was overwhelmed by the attention a year ago. > > “Now it seems like everyone’s happy,” local paper Heraldo de Aragon quoted the once-media shy Gimenez as saying in Sunday’s edition. “I’m grateful that things have quieted down.” > [@](#): > > The image started appearing — without authorization — on T-shirts and cellphone covers, coffee mugs and wine labels. People arrived in Borja asking to see the painting. > > The council started charging an entrance fee of 1 euro ($1.30), giving the money to the Sancti Spiritus charitable foundation, which used the windfall to help pay bills at a care home for 60 elderly people. The council also got lawyers to establish copyright and draw up a merchandising agreement which will see the image put on plates, postcards and cigarette lighters, among other items. > > “It’s a timely agreement,” Ojeda, the councilor, told The Associated Press by telephone from Borja. “The money is going to good causes.” It’s famous not for being good, but for being famous. Kinda like the Kardashians. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresco-restoration-leave-it-to-the-pros/632307/57 "2013-08-13T20:53:12Z")
It’s as close to a miracle as anything else I’ve heard of. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresco-restoration-leave-it-to-the-pros/632307.md?page=2)