Little Old Woman Tries To Help, Ruins 200 Year Old Portrait

Oh…oh dear.

Source: cultura.elpais.com / via: reddit.com

In the Spanish town of Borja, a small church has sat since the 16th century. In the 1800s, the above painting (left) was commissioned by the church and painted by Elias Garcia Martinez.

While the painting may not be worth a lot monetarily, it held a lot of sentimental value for locals. One such local was an anonymous octogenarian who felt it a shame the work had been allowed to fall into disrepair. Without authorizing permission from anyone, the woman enthusiastically began to “restore” the image.

It quickly became apparent to the woman things had “gotten out of hand” and she did not have the required skill and contacted the local cultural heritage institution to confess. Professionals are now assessing the damage to see if the painting can be salvaged.

Update! Thanks to a poor translation of the original article, this post originally identified the well-intentioned painter as a man. It was in fact a woman.