New interior of the Hermitage of the Mirón, Soria.
Credit: Asociación Soria Patrimonio
Cherubs on the façade of a historic hermitage in Soria have seen a repetition of the same naïve artistic gaffe of ecce homo’, and people are furious.
The Mirón chapel in Soria, historically with a simple white interior, is now pink and white inside. The restoration carried out in recent weeks in one of the most valued religious spaces in the area, of baroque origin and erected in 1725, has completely changed its appearance. The Bishop of Soria has admitted that the result has not been good and decided to close the chapel until the matter is resolved.
Ornamental elements, such as cherubs, have been so badly rendered, they appear to have been painted with a thick decorators brush and with bright red lips as though they were from a crude carnival ride decoration.
Ecce Homo 2?
The Association for the Heritage of Soria posted pictures on X, which went viral, as their objection to the shoddily carried out restoration work. The Mirón Hermitage is not declared a Site of Cultural Interest, but it does have protection according to the General Urban Development Plan of Soria. The result of the intervention has been compared in some media and social networks with the one carried out in a church in the town of Borja (Zaragoza) on an Ecce Homo in 2012.
Ecce Homo restoration project, Borja, Zaragoza
Credit: Icon The Institute of Conservation, X
The most terrifying gaffe
But this kind of restoration botch-job is not that uncommon. Take for example the case of the overly confident restoration of a 15th-Century statue of the Virgin Mary which was brightened up by a local parishioner in Asturias, Spain, with what appears to be luminous poster paints.
Virgin Mary which was brightened up.
Credit: Icon The Institute of Conservation, X
Then there was the terrifying Mary and Baby Jesus Statue at Sainte-Anne-des-Pins Catholic Church, Sudbury, Ontario after it had been vandalised. Local churchgoer, Heather wise, offered to fix the statue for free. But, you get what you pay for and in this case it appeared to be a clay rendition of Lisa Simpson with a head that began to melt in the rain.
Statue of Mary and Baby Jesus Statue at Sainte-Anne-des-Pins, Canada.
Credit: Icon The Institute of Conservation, X
Or the 2,000-year-old Ocakli Ada Castle in Turkey which, after a 5-year restoration project ended up looking like a shocked Minecraft character.
Ocakli Ada Castle, Turkey
Credit: Dimiter malkia Stanev, X
Go easy with the paint
And back in Spain, another goofy rehabilitation in the Church of San Miguel de Estella, Navarra, when the church and ‘artist’ were fined €6,000 for going in a little heavy-handedly with the paint. The work was eventually returned to something similar in appearance to what it was like before.
Statue of St. George at Navarra, Spain’s Church of San Miguel de Estella.
Credit: Icon The Institute of Conservation, X
Meanwhile, local craftsman, Mehmet Daşkapan, was the first to raise a red flag over restoration work being done at the Hatay Archaeology Museum in Antakya, Turkey, on mosaics from 2nd to the 6th centuries. The Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry played innocent and claimed they just hadn t finished it yet.
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