Ecce Homo, Fresco in Borja, Spain
Ecce Homo is a small oil painting on a wall inside the sanctuary of Borja, a town in the Aragon region of Spain, showing Jesus wearing a crown of thorns. It measures about 50 cm tall and 40 cm wide, and was painted in the early 20th century by Spanish artist Elías García Martínez.
The painting was made in the early 20th century by Elías García Martínez and had faded over the decades due to moisture and age. In 2012, a local woman named Cecilia Giménez attempted to restore it on her own, accidentally creating a new version that became known worldwide.
The painting is inside the sanctuary of Borja and can be visited as part of a guided tour offered by the local tourism office. It is best combined with a short walk through the town center.
Although the 2012 restoration is widely seen as a mistake, it turned the small town of Borja into a destination that now draws far more visitors than it ever did before. Cecilia Giménez came to be seen not as someone who ruined something, but as a woman who acted out of love for her community.
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