While press accounts agree that the original painting was artistically unremarkable,[2][3][4] its current fame derives from an attempt to restore the fresco by Cecilia Giménez, then an 81-year-old untrained amateur artist, in 2012.[5][6] 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.[7][8] He commented that "this is the result of two hours of devotion to the Virgin of Mercy".[9] 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.[1][10]
Restoration attempt and internet phenomenon
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.[11] 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."[10]
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."[12]
News of the painting spread around the globe in August 2012 (the silly season[13]) on mainstream and social media, which promptly rose to the status of an 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".[5] The restored version has been jokingly dubbed Ecce Mono ('Behold the Monkey'; ecce is Latin for 'behold', whereas mono is Spanish for 'monkey', while in Latin, it would be simius) in an "online rush of global hilarity",[14][15][16] and the incident was compared to the plot of the 1997 film Bean.[17] Because of the negative attention, the priest of the church, Father Florencio Garces, thought the painting should be covered up.[18]
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 ... they tell me more than 130,000 people."[12]
Artistic significance
Tongue-in-cheek critiques have interpreted the piece as a multifaceted comment on both sacred and secular themes. A Forbes commentator suggested that the "inept restoration" represented "one woman's vision of her savior, uncompromised by schooling".[19][20] 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".[21]
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.[22][23][24]
Tourist success
The interest from tourists was such that the church began charging to see the restored fresco.[25] In the year following the failed restoration, tourist activity generated 40,000 visits and more than €50,000 for a local charity.[26][27] 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.[28][29] The mayor had to mend the dispute between the families of both authors.[13] By 2016, the number of tourists visiting the town had increased from 6,000 to 57,000 or even 200,000;[22][23][24] 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.[30][31] On 16 March 2016, an interpretation centre dedicated to the artwork was opened in Borja.[32] 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.[13]
^Jonathan Jones (23 August 2012). "Great art needs a few restoration disasters". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 September 2012. 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.
^Jonathon Keats (27 September 2012). "Why Every Church Should Be Blessed with a Muralist As Uncouth As Cecilia Gimenez". Forbes. Retrieved 29 September 2012. 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.
^Anthony Coyle, Barcelona (7 September 2012). "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 [...]"
