Baroque artist Murillo's valuable painting botched up by Spanish restorer
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A statement was released by the country's Professional Association of Restorers and Conservators condemning the lack of legal protections and called the incident an act of "vandalism"
A Valencia-based art collector paid $1,355 to a furniture restorer to get Murillo's painting 'Immaculate Conception' cleaned. Instead of cleaning it up, the painting was botched up.
According to Spain-based Europa Press, the restorer attempted twice to fix the painting but the matters worsened and Virgin Mary in the art piece is now unrecognizable.
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“I don’t think this guy – or these people – should be referred to as restorers,” Fernando Carrera, former president of Spain’s Professional Association of Restorers and Conservators (Acre) told the Guardian.
“Let’s be honest: They’re bodgers who botch things up. They destroy things.”
A statement was released by the country's Professional Association of Restorers and Conservators condemning the lack of legal protections and called the incident an act of "vandalism"
"This lack of regulation translates into an absence of protection of our heritage," said Acre.
"In recent years, conservation-restoration professionals have been forced to emigrate or leave their professions due to a lack of opportunities," it added, warning that the industry was at "serious risk of disappearing" in Spain.
In 2012, a valuable fresco of Jesus Christ was destroyed after an elderly parishioner attempted to restore. The botched up painting was dubbed as 'Monkey Christ'.
