The heroic statue of San Jorge in the Church of St. Michael in Estella, Spain, had darkened substantially since its creation in the 16th century. When the church tasked a local workshop with the statue’s restoration, however, San Jorge, or St. George, returned as a bit of a mess.
In the process of restoring, his look appears to have been revamped entirely. His face now has an otherworldly pink glow, and his suit of armor is befitted with some splashy red accents.
Estella Mayor Koldo Leoz sent out a series of tweets to criticize the restoration.
A CNN translation indicates that one tweet reads, “Today Estella doesn’t make news for its spectacular historical, artistic, architectural or cultural heritage, but because of miserable actions performed on a 16th-century St George statue that is in one of the most imposing religious temples of the city.”
The mayor also said that the restoration was not done by professionals, but rather “an academy of crafts.” He said he believes the parties involved had “good intentions.”
Intentions aside, the resulting statue is not an improvement on the original.
Many on social media couldn’t help but make the comparison to that of the disaster of the “Ecce Homo” fresco of Jesus, which you can see below:
Others have come up with their own iterations of what they think St. George looks like now.
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