Different works have been positioned as the most important in the world, either for their aesthetic composition or for their profound manifestation of the sense of being. That is to say, many of them have become so famous because of their cultural value, but in addition to that, art has the nobility of helping us build a collective historical identity. What would humanity be without Las Meninas by Diego Velázquez, which have inspired great philosophical thoughts such as the one Michel Foucault wrote about the relationship between the subject and the object. Or without the Vitruvian Man by the great Leonardo da Vinci who taught us about body proportions. This is why when a work of art is damaged, restoring it is of great importance to keep it current in the collective imagination; however, it does not always turn out as expected. There are cases where the restoration ends terribly wrong and these are some of the works that gained greater fame for having been ruined by their restorers.
Ecce Homo
This is perhaps the restoration that attracted the most attention because it was carried out at a time when virality was already possible on social networks. Until before its supposed restoration, the work, which was apparently painted by Elías García Martínez, was almost unknown. It is known that it was painted in the 19th century by García, a Spanish artist who was a professor at the Zaragoza Art School.
In 2012, a neighbor near the town of Borja in Zaragoza, where the painting was displayed in the local church, offered to restore it. However, the result was not what was expected and instead, a completely disfigured face of Jesus can now be seen.
Tutankhamun’s mask
It seems that failed restorations only occur in situations where the restorer does not have the capacity to perform said task. But even in the most famous museums there are cases with failed results, such as that of the Tutankhamun mask that is exhibited in the Cairo Museum, in Egypt. During 2015, during a restoration of said work of great historical value, the well-known gold and blue chin of the pharaoh broke.
Instead of taking the statuette to the laboratory to analyze the situation and fix it in the best way, the staff decided to glue the chin with industrial adhesive that left a mark between the pharaoh’s beard and face. Unfortunately the material used prevented the damage from being reversible and now Tutankhamun has a large scar on his neck.
Matrera Castle
At the end of the 9th century, the Andalusian guerrilla of Spanish-Goth origin Omar Ben Hafsun and of great importance for the Spanish region, ordered the construction of the famous Matrera castle. This served as a fortress on Cerro Pajarete to defend Iptuci during the rebellion against the Emirate of Córdoba.
For this reason it is of great relevance and in fact it has been considered a National Monument in Spain since 1949. Of course the passing of the years has had a great impact on the construction that has survived for more than ten centuries, but In 2013, heavy rains caused the towers to collapse and therefore in 2016 it was decided to restore it. But the result has not been the most optimal and it seems that what was once a great fortress is now just a mix of ancient and modern structures.
Little horse
In front of the National Museum of Art in Mexico City, stands a statue of Charles IV, popularly known as El Caballito. In 2013, the work suffered irreversible damage when nitric acid was applied, which ended up removing the patina surface that protected the work.
The result is a discoloration of the face of the penultimate Spanish king in Mexico, which gives him a strange appearance since only in this region can naked copper be seen.