Yet another bungled restoration of an art piece in Spain is being condemned by artists and social media critics alike — this time, of a statue in a small town.

Spain-based artist Antonio Capel shared a stunning before-and-after of a statue in his town of Palencia.

“This head fell from one of Palencia’s iconic buildings,” he said in a Facebook post last week where he first shared the photos of the restoration, which originally showed a smiling woman. The building, per The Art Newspaper, was built in 1923.

The building owners then commissioned someone to restore the statue. It remains unclear who was hired, but artists and restorers have made it clear that it was not a professional.

Full article in USA Today.

From earlier this year: The original is on the left. The two attempts at “restoring” it are on the right. “Experts call for regulation after latest botched art restoration in Spain: Immaculate Conception painting by Murillo reportedly cleaned by furniture restorer.”
This restoration from 2012 by 81-year-old Cecilia Giménez became world famous — her “amateur restoration” of Ecce Homo by Elías García Martínez.