View source for Ecce Homo (García Martínez and Giménez)

{{short description|Fresco by Elías García Martínez}}
{{For|other uses of Ecce Homo|Ecce Homo (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2021}}
{{Infobox artwork
| image_file         = Elias Garcia Martinez - Ecce Homo.jpg
| image_size         = 180px
| title              = Ecce Homo
| caption            = ''Ecce Homo'' before the restoration attempt
| alt                =
| type               = [[Fresco]]
| artist             = [[Elías García Martínez]], Cecilia Giménez (restoration)
| height_metric      = 50
| width_metric       = 40
| height_imperial    =
| width_imperial     =
| city               = [[Borja, Zaragoza]], Spain
| museum             = Sanctuary of Mercy church
| coordinates        =
| owner              = [[Diocese of Tarazona]]
}}
The '''''Ecce Homo''''' ([[Latin]]: "''Behold the Man"'') in the Sanctuary of Mercy church in [[Borja, Zaragoza|Borja]], Spain, is a [[fresco]] painted circa 1930 by the Spanish painter [[Elías García Martínez]] depicting [[Jesus]] [[Crown of thorns|crowned with thorns]]. Both the subject and style are typical of traditional [[Catholic art]].<ref name=CentroBorjanos>[http://cesbor.blogspot.com.es/2012/08/un-hecho-incalificable.html "Un hecho incalificable"] (in Spanish). Noticias y actividades. ''Centro de Estudios Borjanos'' (Institución Fernando El Católico). 7 August 2012.</ref>
While press accounts agree that the original painting was artistically unremarkable,<ref name=paisValue>{{cite news|url=http://cultura.elpais.com/cultura/2012/08/23/actualidad/1345709139_149007.html|title=La restauración de un 'Ecce homo' se convierte en un sainete mundial|author=Rocío Huerta|date=22 August 2012 |access-date=24 August 2012 |work=[[El País]] |language=es}}</ref><ref name=independent>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/news/elderly-woman-destroys-19thcentury-spanish-fresco-by-elias-garcia-martinez-in-botched-restoration-8073267.html|title=Elderly woman destroys 19th-century Spanish fresco by Elias Garcia Martinez in botched restoration|author=John Hall|date=22 August 2012 |access-date=24 August 2012 |work=The Independent|location=London}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |quote=Martinez is not a great artist and his painting Ecce Homo is not a 'masterpiece'. It is a minor painting in the dregs of an academic tradition. |title=Great art needs a few restoration disasters |author=Jonathan Jones |work=The Guardian |date=23 August 2012 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/aug/23/great-art-restoration-disasters |access-date=1 September 2012}}</ref> its current fame derives from an attempt to [[Painting restoration|restore]] the fresco by Cecilia Giménez, then an 81-year-old untrained amateur artist, in 2012.<ref name=bbc>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-19349921 |title=Spanish fresco restoration botched by amateur |work=[[BBC News]] |date=23 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181120232540/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-19349921 |archive-date=20 November 2018 |url-status=live |access-date=18 March 2019}}</ref><ref name=celebritycafe>{{cite web |title=Amateur art restorer ruins fresco of Christ in Spanish town |url=http://thecelebritycafe.com/feature/2012/08/amateur-art-restorer-ruins-fresco-christ-spanish-town |work=The Celebrity Cafe |access-date=27 August 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120827000048/http://thecelebritycafe.com/feature/2012/08/amateur-art-restorer-ruins-fresco-christ-spanish-town |archive-date=27 August 2012 }}</ref> The intervention transformed the painting and made it look similar to a monkey, and for this reason it is sometimes referred to as ''Ecce Mono'' (roughly ''Behold the Monkey'', "''mono''" being Spanish for "monkey").
==Original mural==
The artist, a professor at the School of Art of Zaragoza, donated the painting to the village where he used to spend his holidays, painting it directly on the wall of the church in about 1930.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.yahoo.com/disfigured-spanish-fresco-hit-artist-town-151848237.html|title=Disfigured Spanish Fresco Is Hit for Artist, Town|date=13 August 2013|agency=Associated Press|access-date=13 August 2013}}</ref><ref>Albarium Conservación y Restauración. [http://www.borja.es/ayuntamiento/descarga-impresos/doc_download/191-informe-ecce-homo Informe sobre el Ecce Homo de la iglesia del Santuario de la Misericordia de Borja (Zaragoza)]. September 2012.  {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150626130145/http://www.borja.es/ayuntamiento/descarga-impresos/doc_download/191-informe-ecce-homo |date=26 June 2015 }}</ref> He commented that "this is the result of two hours of devotion to the [[Virgin of Mercy]]".<ref name=elpais>{{cite news |url=http://cultura.elpais.com/cultura/2012/08/22/actualidad/1345630054_325291.html |title=Restauradores profesionales tratarán de recuperar el eccehomo |last=Huerta |first=Rocío |date=22 August 2012 |work=[[El País]] |language=es |access-date=25 August 2012}}</ref> His descendants still live in Zaragoza and were aware that the painting had deteriorated seriously; his granddaughter had made a donation toward its restoration shortly before they discovered that the work had been radically altered in an incompetent attempt to restore it.<ref name=CentroBorjanos /><ref name=nytimes>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/24/world/europe/botched-restoration-of-ecce-homo-fresco-shocks-spain.html |title=Despite Good Intentions, a Fresco in Spain Is Ruined |last=Minder |first=Raphael |date=24 August 2012 |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=25 August 2012}}</ref>
==Restoration attempt and internet phenomenon==
[[File:Attempted restoration of Ecce Homo.jpg|thumb|upright|Cecilia Giménez's 2012 attempted restoration of the fresco]]
The authorities in Borja said they had suspected vandalism at first, but then determined that the alterations had been made by a parishioner, Cecilia Giménez, who was 81 years old at the time.<ref>{{cite magazine |first=A.J. |last=McCarthy |url=https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2012/09/cecilia-gimenez-ecce-home-81-year-old-woman-who-restored-sanctuary-of-mercy-church-s-fresco-suing-for-royalties.html |title=Cecilia Gimenez-Ecce Home: 81-year-old woman who restored Sanctuary of Mercy Church's fresco suing for royalties |magazine=[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]] |date=20 September 2012 |access-date=2022-03-21}}</ref> She said on Spanish national television that she started to restore the fresco because she was upset that parts of it had flaked off due to excessive moisture on the church's walls. "Giménez defended herself, saying she could not understand the uproar because she had worked in broad daylight and had tried to salvage the fresco with the approval of the local clergyman. "The priest knew it," she told Spanish television. "I've never tried to do anything hidden."<ref name=nytimes />
Giménez said that the attempted restoration was actually an uncompleted work in progress. "I left it to dry and went on holiday for two weeks, thinking I would finish the restoration when I returned", she said. "When I came back, everybody in the world had heard about ''Ecce Homo''. The way people reacted still hurts me, because I wasn’t finished with the restoration." She argued, "I still think about how if I hadn’t gone on holiday, none of this would have ever happened."<ref name="theguardian1">{{cite news |date=2015-01-07 |title=Life after a viral nightmare: from Ecce Homo to revenge porn |url=http://www.theguardian.com/global/2015/jan/07/life-after-a-viral-nightmare-ecce-homo-to-revenge-porn |first=Leo |last=Benedictus |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |location=London |language=en |access-date=2021-10-04}}</ref>
News of the painting spread around the globe in August 2012 (the [[silly season]]<ref name="ElDiario" />) on mainstream and social media, which promptly rose to the status of an [[List of Internet phenomena|internet phenomenon]]. BBC Europe correspondent [[Christian Fraser]] said that the result resembled a "crayon sketch of a very hairy monkey in an ill-fitting tunic".<ref name="bbc" /> The restored version has been jokingly dubbed ''Ecce Mono'' ('Behold the Monkey'; {{lang|la|ecce}} is Latin for 'behold', whereas {{lang|es|mono}} is Spanish for 'monkey', while in Latin, it would be {{lang|la|simius}}) in an "online rush of global hilarity",<ref>{{cite news |department=Editorial |work=[[Financial Times]] |date=24 August 2012 |title=Ecce mono |url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/269a80c4-edec-11e1-8d72-00144feab49a.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20230304210318/https://www.ft.com/content/269a80c4-edec-11e1-8d72-00144feab49a |archive-date=4 March 2023 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |access-date=27 August 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Elderly woman destroys 19th century fresco in do-it-herself restoration attempt |date=27 August 2012 |author=Victoria Cavaliere |work=[[Daily News (New York)|Daily News]]|location=New York |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/elderly-woman-destroys-19th-century-fresco-do-it-herself-restoration-attempt-article-1.1142772 |access-date=27 August 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=De Ecce Homo... |work=[[El Heraldo (Tegucigalpa)|El Heraldo]] |date=23 August 2012 |quote=Malestar e hilaridad general por destrozo que anciana 'restauradora' ocasionó a pintura.}}</ref> and the incident was compared to the plot of the 1997 film ''[[Bean (film)|Bean]]''.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2012/08/23/church-masterpiece-restored-as-mr-bean-would-do-it |title=Church masterpiece 'restored' as Mr. Bean would do it |publisher=CNN |date=23 August 2012 |access-date=22 September 2012 |archive-date=18 September 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120918014433/http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2012/08/23/church-masterpiece-restored-as-mr-bean-would-do-it/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> Because of the negative attention, the priest of the church, Father Florencio Garces, thought the painting should be covered up.<ref>{{cite web |author1=David Randall |author2=Megan Tatum |title=Botched art is an online sensation |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-33520671.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921061426/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-33520671.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=21 September 2013 |location=London|publisher=The Independent on Sunday  |access-date=1 September 2012}}</ref>
Giménez said in 2015 that "everyone here sees what I did in a different light. The restoration has put Borja on the world map, meaning I’ve done something for my village that nobody else was able to do. So many people have come here – and to our beautiful church – to see the painting&nbsp;... they tell me more than 130,000 people."<ref name="theguardian1"/>
==Artistic significance==
[[Tongue-in-cheek]] critiques have interpreted the piece as a multifaceted comment on both [[sacred]] and [[Secularity|secular]] themes. A ''[[Forbes]]'' commentator suggested that the "inept restoration" represented "one woman's vision of her savior, uncompromised by schooling".<ref>{{cite web |quote=[...] the updated monkey-like Christ has a freakish new power all its own, and may be its own kind of metaphor for modern man. |title=Spanish Octogenarian's Disastrous Unauthorized Art Restoration Yields Surprisingly Avant-Garde Results |author=Alexander Forbes |work=Art+Auction |date=23 August 2012 |url=http://artinfo.com/news/story/821028/spanish-octogenarians-disastrous-unauthorized-art-restoration-yields-surprisingly-avant-garde-results |access-date=1 September 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | quote= Works such as the Giménez Jesus are as vital for believers – and as insightful for the rest of us – as traditional masterpieces, albeit for different reasons... We gain access to one woman's vision of her savior, uncompromised by schooling. Her painting documents a live relationship. For some, that will be alluring, inviting them likewise to pursue their connection with their god or messiah. To any of us willing to set aside our sneering irony, it provides rare raw access to human faith at work. | url= https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonathonkeats/2012/09/27/why-every-church-should-be-blessed-with-a-muralist-as-uncouth-as-cecilia-gimenez/ | title= Why Every Church Should Be Blessed with a Muralist As Uncouth As Cecilia Gimenez |author= Jonathon Keats |date=27 September 2012|newspaper=[[Forbes]]|access-date=29 September 2012}}</ref> In September 2012, the artistic group Wallpeople presented hundreds of reworked versions of the new image on a wall near the [[Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona]]. An organizer commented that "Cecilia has created a pop icon".<ref>Anthony Coyle, Barcelona (7 September 2012). [http://cultura.elpais.com/cultura/2012/09/07/actualidad/1347035155_147259.html "Ya está aquí: el 'eccehomenaje'"] (in Spanish). Cultura. ''[[El País]]''. "Una acción en la que cientos de personas han diseñado su particular fotomontaje del eccehomo {{sic}} de Borja, asignándole tan particular rostro a todo tipo de iconos del imaginario popular; desde celebridades a obras del Renacimiento o pósters de cine. Wallpeople ha recibido más de un centenar de dibujos de todo el mundo desde que anunció la convocatoria hace dos semanas. Uno de sus responsables, Pablo Quijano, explica que la idea es 'fomentar el arte y la creatividad' y 'apoyar a Cecilia Giménez', quién incluso ha padecido ataques de ansiedad desde el suceso. 'Cuando vimos la repercusión de este fenómeno pensamos que teníamos que hacer algo. Cecilia ha creado un icono pop', comenta el joven de 30 años [...]"</ref>
Later on, Spanish actress [[Assumpta Serna]] co-produced with Wildcard UK a documentary called ''Fresco Fiasco'' and acted in the movie ''Behold the Monkey'', two films about the restoration. Both projects were seen in February 2016 on the ''[[Sky Arts]]'' network in the UK.<ref name="YouTube">{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTXITZE-J94 |title=Estreno del Documental "Fresco fiasco" |publisher=[[YouTube]] |date=2016-07-07 |access-date=2016-12-02}}</ref><ref name="SKY Box Sets">{{cite web |url=http://go.sky.com/tvboxsets/series/content/series/d95b451480903510VgnVCM1000000b43150a____ |title=SKY Box Sets |date=2016 |website=Go.sdky.com |access-date=2016-12-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170728212422/http://go.sky.com/tvboxsets/series/content/series/d95b451480903510VgnVCM1000000b43150a____ |archive-date=28 July 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="abc.es">{{cite web|url=http://www.abc.es/espana/aragon/abci-eccehomo-borja-salta-television-britanica-201606171248_noticia.html |title=El Eccehomo de Borja salta a la televisión británica |work=ABC|location=Madrid |date=2016-06-17 |access-date=2016-12-02}}</ref>
==Tourist success==
The interest from tourists was such that the church began charging to see the restored fresco.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/20/octogenarian-restorationi_n_1899747.html?1348150855 |title='Ecce Homo' Restorationist Cecilia Gimenez Allegedly Demands Royalties for 'Beast Jesus' Creation in Spain |work=HuffPost |access-date=20 September 2012 |first=Katherine |last=Brooks |date=20 September 2012}}</ref> In the year following the failed restoration, tourist activity generated 40,000 visits and more than €50,000 for a local charity.<ref>{{cite news|agency=Associated Press in Madrid |url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2013/aug/14/ruined-christ-fresco-money-spinner |title=Ecce dinero: Spain turns ruined Christ fresco into money-spinner &#124; Art and design |work=The Guardian |date=14 August 2013 |access-date=6 September 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Detenido Florencio Garcés, el cura de Borja: abusos sexuales y robo de 210.000 euros. En la Iglesia de esta localidad zaragozana se encuentra el famoso 'Eccehomo' restaurado por Cecilia Giménez|date=30 November 2013|url=http://www.lavozlibre.com/noticias/ampliar/845989/florencio-garces-el-cura-de-borja-abusos-sexuales-y-robo-de-210000-euros|access-date=30 November 2013|trans-title=Florencio Garcés, the priest of Borja Arrested: sexual abuse and theft of 210,000 euros. In the church of this town in Zaragoza there is the famous 'Eccehomo' restored by Cecilia Giménez|archive-date=3 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203055418/http://www.lavozlibre.com/noticias/ampliar/845989/florencio-garces-el-cura-de-borja-abusos-sexuales-y-robo-de-210000-euros|url-status=dead}}</ref> Giménez has sought a share of the royalties; her lawyer said that she wanted her share of the profits to help [[muscular dystrophy]] charities because her son suffers from the condition.<ref>{{cite news|title=Disfigured Spain fresco rides global fame|author=Alan Clendenning |date=21 September 2012 |url=https://news.yahoo.com/disfigured-spain-fresco-rides-global-fame-161733145.html |location=Madrid |agency=Associated Press}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/sep/20/ecce-homo-cecilia-gimenez-royalties |last=Neild |first=Barry |title=Ecce Homo 'restorer' wants a slice of the royalties {{!}} Cecilia Giménez, who made a painting of Jesus look like a very hairy monkey, wants economic compensation |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |date=20 September 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180622164935/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/sep/20/ecce-homo-cecilia-gimenez-royalties |archive-date=22 June 2018 |url-status=live |access-date=18 March 2019}}</ref> The mayor had to mend the dispute between the families of both authors.<ref name="ElDiario"/> By 2016, the number of tourists visiting the town had increased from 6,000 to 57,000 or even 200,000;<ref name="YouTube"/><ref name="SKY Box Sets"/><ref name="abc.es"/> in addition to spending money with local businesses, visitors have donated some €50,000 to the church. The money has been used to employ additional attendants at the church and to fund a home for retirees.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-europe-23693176/monkey-christ-fresco-boosts-tourism |last=Thomas |first=Emily |title=Monkey Christ fresco boosts tourism |work=[[BBC News]] |date=14 August 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181011234250/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-23693176 |archive-date=11 October 2018 |url-status=live |access-date=18 March 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Botched restoration has visitors flooding to sleepy Spanish village|publisher=Euro Weekly News|location=Spain|date=17 March 2016|url=http://www.euroweeklynews.com/3.0.15/news/on-euro-weekly-news/spain-news-in-english/137587-botched-restoration-has-visitors-flooding-to-sleepy-spanish-village|access-date=1 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161006104546/http://www.euroweeklynews.com/3.0.15/news/on-euro-weekly-news/spain-news-in-english/137587-botched-restoration-has-visitors-flooding-to-sleepy-spanish-village|archive-date=6 October 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> On 16 March 2016, an [[interpretation centre]] dedicated to the artwork was opened in Borja.<ref>{{cite news|title=El eccehomo de Borja ya tiene quien lo explique. Se inaugura el Centro de Interpretación centrado en la pintura retocada en 2012 por la restauradora aficionada Cecilia Giménez|author= Aitor Bengoa|work=El Pais |date=16 March 2016|url= http://cultura.elpais.com/cultura/2016/03/16/actualidad/1458155898_147342.html |access-date= 5 April 2016|trans-title=Borja's eccehomo already has someone to explain it. The Interpretation Center is inaugurated, focused on the painting that was touched up in 2012 by the amateur restorer Cecilia Giménez}}</ref> The €3 tickets generate over €40,000 that, among other expenses, pay €15,000 for two (some years even five) elderly people in the town home for retirees. Cecilia Giménez also keeps 49% of the merchandising profit.<ref name="ElDiario">{{cite news |last1=Riaño |first1=Peio H. |title=De fenómeno a fin social: diez años del milagro económico del 'Ecce Homo' de Borja |url=https://www.eldiario.es/cultura/fenomeno-social-diez-anos-milagro-economico-ecce-homo-borja_1_9130008.html |access-date=30 June 2022 |work=ElDiario.es |date=29 June 2022 |language=es}}</ref>
==See also==
{{Portal|Catholicism|Spain|Visual arts}}
* ''[[Behold the Man, La Ópera de Cecilia]]''
* [[Accidental damage of art]]
* [[Outsider art]]
{{-}}
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
* {{Commons category-inline|Ecce Homo (Elías García Martínez)|''Ecce Homo'' (Elias Garcia Martinez)}}
* [https://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/24/world/europe/botched-restoration-of-ecce-homo-fresco-shocks-spain.html?_r=0 Despite Good Intentions, a Fresco in Spain Is Ruined]
* [https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/aug/20/something-to-sing-about-worst-art-restoration-ever-inspires-an-opera Something to sing about: 'worst art restoration ever' inspires an opera]
* [http://www.thelonelypalette.com/episodes/2019/1/25/episode-36-behold-the-monkey-the-ecce-homo-restoration Episode 36: Behold the Monkey] – Illustrated episode of the podcast ''[http://www.thelonelypalette.com/ The Lonely Palette]'' discussing the incident
* [https://traciepotochnik.bandcamp.com/track/cecilia-and-the-saints Cecilia and the Saints] – modern folksong by Tracie Potochnik, inspired by the incident
* [https://sites.google.com/view/cecil-ia/home Tributo a Cecilia]
{{Cultural Conservation-Restoration |state=expanded}}
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[[Category:Paintings of Ecce Homo]]
[[Category:Conservation and restoration of paintings|Ecce Homo]]
[[Category:Paintings of Jesus]]
[[Category:Fresco paintings in Spain]]
[[Category:Spanish paintings]]
[[Category:Internet memes]]
[[Category:Province of Zaragoza]]
[[Category:2012 in Spain]]
[[Category:2012 in art]]
[[Category:1930s paintings]]