Many factors compromise the safety and lifespan of a work of art. From marble sculptures to oil paintings, all works develop, over time, an inevitable fragility and damage that makes the work of a restorer necessary.

A work does not need to lose the sharpness of its pigments or be highly damaged or broken to require restoration. In many cases, it is best to opt for this service in order to keep the work in its best condition whenever possible, almost like a type of preventive medicine. In others, the importance and state of fragility of the work make it most pertinent that it receive the least possible interventions. And it is important to remember that there are many factors that can affect a work of art, such as humidity (or lack thereof), outside gases and even inadequate exposure to light.

And while hiring a restoration service is important, the correct selection of a trained and experienced professional for the job is even more so. Below are examples of failed restoration cases that resulted in considerable losses to the art world:

• "El Caballito" (1796-1803)

The equestrian Statue of Carlos IV, better known as “El Caballito” (1796-1803) is an icon of Mexico City, inaugurated in 1803 and made by Manuel Tolsá, it received a supposed restoration in 2013, which was very controversial because of the incredible damage caused to the sculpture. The work made of bronze ended up giving a pitiful view of greenish and orange washes between sudden corrosions of its material due to the nitric bath it received by the Marina Restoration of Monuments company. It should be noted that this company proceeded to clean the monument without authorization from INAH, and as a result they applied a highly aggressive method that significantly damaged the work.

• The knight with his hand on his chest (1580)

It may seem incredible, but the most famous museums have not been spared from this type of unfortunate incidents either, such is the case of the El Prado museum, in the capital of Spain. It has a huge and varied collection in which a notable number of works by famous artists in the history of Spanish art. This is where a painting from El Greco's valuable collection was involved in a poor restoration in 1996. Although El Greco is not a painter of Spanish origin, he is highly appreciated in Spain for the work he produced in Toledo. The work of “The Knight with the Hand on the Chest” (1580) changed its aura and essence after being “restored” and its entire background went from being a deep and enigmatic black to a gray in a vertical gradient, which lasts. to the present.

• Ecce Homo (1930)

The incredibly famous case of “Ecce Homo” (1930) could not be missing from this short list. A Baroque painting by Elías García Martínez was almost completely disfigured in 2012. The work, which consisted of a portrait of Christ, was largely damaged by white spaces that were no longer painted. It was then that an amateur painter had the great idea of taking the work without permission or authorization to carry out her restoration attempt, leaving a clear example of why artists cannot perform the profession of a restorer, and it is necessary to pursue a different career to be able to do it. The intervention of this painter Cecilia Giménez not only resulted in the loss of an ancient work of sacred art, but surprisingly also caused tourism to the Sanctuary of Misericordia de Borja to increase, since, despite the indignation of the art world, many wanted to witness this “restoration.”

Whether it is a Da Vinci from the Louvre, a collector's piece or a work made by an art fan, it is appropriate for a restoration professional to take charge of either the repair or maintenance of the work, since they are They who have the knowledge and equipment necessary to intervene in the work in the correct way, they do not seek to give another essence to the works, but rather to return them to their natural essence.

Sources:

https://www.razon.com.mx/cultura/ecce-homo-restauraciones-fallidas-358505

https://www.milenio.com/cultura/el-antes-y-despues-de-la-restauracion-de-el-caballito

https://www.admagazine.com/cultura/restauraciones-fallidas-en-el-mundo-del-arte-20200625-7036-articulos.html