Retouched and ruined Christ fresco becomes Spanish tourist attraction

Before and after: the retouched Ecce Homo painting made headlines around the world

It’s never advisable to laugh at the misfortune of others, but who can honestly say they didn’t let out at least a giggle last year when they first laid eyes on Cecilia Giménez’s amateurish attempt to retouch the Ecce Homo fresco of Christ?

The 81-year-old Spanish artist was roundly mocked for turning a delicate, if slightly time-worn, fresco into something that looked like a Lesson 101 in painting-by-numbers…

But Giménez is now having the last laugh – the disfigured fresco has been turned into a tourist attraction, and has raised more than €50,000 for a local charity in the town of Borja, with an estimated 40,000 visitors already drawn inexorably to gaze upon the fresco’s simple features.

And that’s not all: everything from cups to keyrings are now adorned with the world-famous image – a money-spinning idea that has put the town, and the artist, on the map. Gimenez’s last art exhibit attracted vast crowds.

Giménez will receive 49 per cent of the profits made from the merchandise, and the artist is in a much happier place now than this time last year. Admitting that the worldwide attention she received 12 months ago was overwhelming, the Spanish retiree is relieved at the turnaround.

“It seems that everyone is happy now,” she told the local press. “I’m grateful that things have quietened down.”

The original fresco depicted Christ with a crown of thorns, and was known as Ecce Homo – Behold the Man. For decades, the painting flew under the radar as a little-known piece of art hanging in the Misericordia Sanctuary.

But last year, noticing the flaking caused by the damp church air, Giménez decided to retouch it – to the amusement of the rest of the world. In fact, the retouched version has so captured the attention of wags the world over that Christ’s simplified face has appeared on mobile phone covers, T-shirts and even wine labels.

After tourists began visiting Borja asking to see it, the council started charging €1 per visit, with all proceeds going to the Sancti Spiritus charitable foundation. The money raised has helped pay the bills at an old people’s home.

Which just goes to show that no good intention goes unrewarded, no matter how poorly executed in the first place…