The news should have reached most of the civilized world by now. On the 23rd of August, 2012, a curious story popped out in Spain regarding an over 100-year old fresco of Jesus Christ receiving a rather haphazard restoration by a well-meaning, albeit artistically challenged octogenarian parishioner.

This kind of news rubs people differently. For the artist’s living descendants, whom by they way, recently donated money to have their ancestor’s artworks restored, both are not  too happy over it. In their shoes, my knee-jerk reaction to this would have been way less diplomatic.

The city council where the church of la Misericordia de Borja is considering taking legal action against the lady who perpetrated the transformation of the wall painting from an image of a suffering Messiah into a robed, corpulent primate with a skeptical look about him.

Cecilia Gimenez, who asserts that the parish priest and her fellow parishioners were witnesses to her act, is sorta freaking out. All the while, the real restoration experts are still figuring out whether this “mod” to the century-old painting is still reversible.

The Internets, on the other hand, rejoices in this kind of imbroglio. Calling it “comedy gold” still qualifies as an understatement. It’s simply hilarious. While not exactly a “victimless crime,” the original artist is far from being harmed by this slight to his artworks, and despite the fact that his descendants stand to lose a kind of family heirloom, it’s not like they could have benefited financially from a fresco painted on the wall of the church.

Oh, and some people aren’t even impressed with the original fresco, and they figure that this botched restoration was probably the best thing that ever happened to it, bringing more fame and attention to this artwork than it ever did when it was still new and intact.

Art is supposed to stir the soul, so to speak. It should be able to inspire and elicit emotions, from joy and exaltation to more darker, sinister sentiments that lurk in the shadowed corners of our being. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be art.

Did Sra. Cecilia Gimenez’s work stir something within people? Speaking for myself, it definitely has. From what one can observe through Google, the tone appears to be mostly negative at the present time, as most news portals couldn’t pass up the sensational event. Regardless, others have seen the positive, spirit-lifting qualities of Sra. Cecilia’s bold reimagining of the old fresco, and there is at least one significant online petition to keep the new look.

To be fair, nobody really knows what Jesus of Nazareth looks like, exactly. It shouldn’t matter much, neither. This was a man (man-god to the Christians) who is remembered for his then-revolutionary teachings, not his looks.

This debacle started as an issue regarding a badly-done, uncommissioned restoration of a cultural and religious relic. Thanks to a billion or so minds sifting and processing the event, it has actually become quite more than that. Whatever the outcome of this story will be, it has certainly made our lives (those that participated in the global conversation) a little more colorful,  and possibly restoring in some of us a sense of humor.

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About the Author:
Stacey Thompson is a professional writer, marketer, entrepreneur, and a lover of weird little animals. She is based in San Diego, California, and works with many successful companies such as Couples Resorts.