Ecce Homo, Fresco in Borja, Spain
Ecce Homo is a fresco painted directly on a wall of the Sanctuary of Mercy church in Borja, Spain, showing Jesus crowned with thorns. Elías García Martínez, a professor at the School of Art of Zaragoza, painted it around 1930. The surface is coarse and dotted, with a pale glow behind the head and a dark cloak over a crimson garment.
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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