New meme template dropped, with some funny history attached..
The fresco, titled Ecce Homo ("Behold the Man"), was painted by Spanish artist Elías García Martínez in 1870 and decorated the wall of the Santuario de la Misericordia church in Borja, a small town of about 5,000 people in Zaragoza.
By the early 2010s, the fresco had deteriorated due to moisture on the church walls, with parts of the paint flaking off.
In June 2012, Cecilia Giménez (also spelled Jiménez), an 81-year-old local woman, decided to restore the fresco on her own, without professional training or permission.
She used a 10-year-old photo of the painting as a reference, but her efforts resulted in a comical disfigurement: Jesus ended up with a half-beard and a monkey-like appearance.
The botched restoration went viral, spawning countless memes and earning the nickname "Monkey Christ".
Despite (or because of) the disaster, the incident brought thousands of tourists to Borja, transforming the small town into an international sensation.
In 2016, the original painting that García Martínez had used as a model for the fresco resurfaced in Zaragoza, confirming what the fresco originally looked like
Cecilia Giménez, who passed away in 2025 at age 94, said the experience was difficult at first but ultimately "very good for me and for the santuario" because of the increased attention and visitors.
#art #artstr
The fresco, titled Ecce Homo ("Behold the Man"), was painted by Spanish artist Elías García Martínez in 1870 and decorated the wall of the Santuario de la Misericordia church in Borja, a small town of about 5,000 people in Zaragoza.
By the early 2010s, the fresco had deteriorated due to moisture on the church walls, with parts of the paint flaking off.
In June 2012, Cecilia Giménez (also spelled Jiménez), an 81-year-old local woman, decided to restore the fresco on her own, without professional training or permission.
She used a 10-year-old photo of the painting as a reference, but her efforts resulted in a comical disfigurement: Jesus ended up with a half-beard and a monkey-like appearance.
The botched restoration went viral, spawning countless memes and earning the nickname "Monkey Christ".
Despite (or because of) the disaster, the incident brought thousands of tourists to Borja, transforming the small town into an international sensation.
In 2016, the original painting that García Martínez had used as a model for the fresco resurfaced in Zaragoza, confirming what the fresco originally looked like
Cecilia Giménez, who passed away in 2025 at age 94, said the experience was difficult at first but ultimately "very good for me and for the santuario" because of the increased attention and visitors.
#art #artstr
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