> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://hyperallergic.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Botched Spanish Sculpture Restoration Evokes the Infamy of Beast Jesus - URL: https://hyperallergic.com/saint-george-statue-borja-spain-beast-jesus/ - Published: 2018-06-28T17:47:10.000Z - Updated: 2025-11-24T16:24:58.000Z - Description: A church in a small Spanish city entrusted the restoration of a neglected artwork to an amateur art restorer. Sound familiar? - Author: Benjamin Sutton - Tags: In Brief, bad restoration, #wp, #wp-post, #image-position-hidden, #Import 2025-11-18 14:37 (2018) > De nuevo en España se vuelve a destrozar una obra de arte. Esta imagen es de San Jorge y del siglo XVI de San Miguel de Estella (Navarra). Curioso que los jefes contraten a semejantes restauradores, a lo mejor se tendrían que restaurar los jefes que los contratan ¿No? [pic.twitter.com/G9iyLidgPr](https://t.co/G9iyLidgPr?ref=hyperallergic.com) > > — Xavi Escaned (@escaned) [June 26, 2018](https://twitter.com/escaned/status/1011601017253892096?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=hyperallergic.com) [Beast Jesus](https://hyperallergic.com/tag/beast-jesus/) may have single-handedly [saved the Spanish town of Borja](https://hyperallergic.com/168990/how-beast-jesus-saved-a-spanish-town/), but now another municipality in northeastern Spain is grappling with a similarly disastrous (and viral) restoration debacle. A 16th-century polychromed equestrian statue of [Saint George slaying the dragon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint%5FGeorge%5Fand%5Fthe%5FDragon?ref=hyperallergic.com) has been painted in bold hues more befitting a comic book by a well-meaning crafts teacher in the small city of Estella, which sits about 130 kilometers north of Borja. The wooden statue is housed in the town’s St. Michael’s Church. Before-and-after photo comparisons show a badly damaged but tonally subtle and complex sculpture that has been updated with a cartoonish palette. The makeover has not only changed the facial expression of Saint George to a kind of dumbfounded stare, but also obliterated many of the details in his ornate armor, which now resembles that of a toy knight. > Los mejores memes sobre la penosa restauración del 'San Jorge de Estella' [https://t.co/2E2QJXMbMe](https://t.co/2E2QJXMbMe?ref=hyperallergic.com) [pic.twitter.com/izBICHRbAh](https://t.co/izBICHRbAh?ref=hyperallergic.com) > > — Juank (@JCSura) [June 26, 2018](https://twitter.com/JCSura/status/1011619267089874944?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=hyperallergic.com) “The parish decided on its own to take action to restore the statue and gave the job to a local handicrafts teacher. The council wasn’t told and neither was the regional government of Navarre,” Estella’s mayor, Koldo Leoz, told the [*Guardian*](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jun/26/second-spanish-church-falls-prey-to-well-intentioned-restorer-st-george-ecce-homo-monkey-christ?ref=hyperallergic.com). “It’s not been the kind of restoration that it should have been for this 16th-century statue. They’ve used plaster and the wrong kind of paint and it’s possible that the original layers of paint have been lost.” On Monday, the mayor [tweeted](https://twitter.com/koldinni/status/1011258841605005314?ref=hyperallergic.com) a photo of a newspaper article about the botched restoration, commenting: “Today, Estella isn’t in the news because of its spectacular historical, artistic, architectural, or cultural heritage.” > Hoy [#Estella](https://twitter.com/hashtag/Estella?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=hyperallergic.com) [#Lizarra](https://twitter.com/hashtag/Lizarra?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=hyperallergic.com) no es noticia por su espectacular patrimonio histórico, artístico, arquitectónico y cultural en general, lo es por una desgraciada actuación en una talla de San Jorge del siglo XVI que se encuentra en uno de los imponentes templos religiosos de la ciudad [pic.twitter.com/EYf8IwTdQp](https://t.co/EYf8IwTdQp?ref=hyperallergic.com) > > — KoldoLeozGarciandia (@koldinni) [June 25, 2018](https://twitter.com/koldinni/status/1011258841605005314?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=hyperallergic.com) Spain’s national organization of professional art restorers ([ACRE](https://asociacion-acre.org/no-mas-atentados-al-patrimonio-cultural-cultural/?ref=hyperallergic.com)) has been even more adamant in its criticism of the restoration. “We cannot tolerate more attacks on our cultural heritage,” the group said in [an official statement](https://asociacion-acre.org/no-mas-atentados-al-patrimonio-cultural-cultural/?ref=hyperallergic.com). Local art restorer Carmen Usúa, the owner of [ArtUs Restauración](https://www.facebook.com/artusrestauracion.patrimonio/), told the [*New York Times*](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/26/world/europe/spain-estella-church-statue.html?ref=hyperallergic.com): “As a professional, I feel disconcerted and very offended. It takes years to acquire the skills necessary to carry out these kind of restorations, so imagine the frustration when something like this happens.” Others, meanwhile, see the humor in the statue’s radical transformation and its potential draw as a tourist attraction. Estella’s tourism office has been [enthusiastically](https://twitter.com/EstellaTurismo/status/1012261094096850944?ref=hyperallergic.com) [tweeting](https://twitter.com/EstellaTurismo/status/1012369233223745536?ref=hyperallergic.com) various stories about the viral statute, as has the [tourism agency](https://twitter.com/Turismo%5FNavarra/status/1012261199394811905?ref=hyperallergic.com) for the region of Navarre. > La polémica imagen sigue dando de qué hablar… [https://t.co/3sBMZCrN60](https://t.co/3sBMZCrN60?ref=hyperallergic.com) > ¿Habrá vuelta atrás?: la talla de San Jorge será trasladada a Patrimonio Histórico para valorar su recuperación[#EstellaLizarra](https://twitter.com/hashtag/EstellaLizarra?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=hyperallergic.com) [#TurismoEstella](https://twitter.com/hashtag/TurismoEstella?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=hyperallergic.com) [#Estella](https://twitter.com/hashtag/Estella?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=hyperallergic.com) [#Lizarra](https://twitter.com/hashtag/Lizarra?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=hyperallergic.com) [#TurismoNavarra](https://twitter.com/hashtag/TurismoNavarra?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=hyperallergic.com) [@TurismoNavarra](https://twitter.com/TurismoNavarra?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=hyperallergic.com) > > — TurismoRural Navarra (@Turismo\_Navarra) [June 28, 2018](https://twitter.com/Turismo%5FNavarra/status/1012261199394811905?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=hyperallergic.com) Internet users, meanwhile, seem most divided on [the question](https://www.thelocal.es/20180627/st-george-or-tintin-the-best-memes-of-spains-latest-botched-restoration?ref=hyperallergic.com) of whether the restored statue more closely resembles the famous Belgian comic book character Tintin, a Disney character, a Playmobil figure, or the British comedian Marty Feldman. > El "ecce homo" de Navarra. ¿Homenaje a [#Tintín](https://twitter.com/hashtag/Tint%C3%ADn?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=hyperallergic.com)?[#SanJorge](https://twitter.com/hashtag/SanJorge?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=hyperallergic.com) [#estella](https://twitter.com/hashtag/estella?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=hyperallergic.com) [pic.twitter.com/isdcecIq6V](https://t.co/isdcecIq6V?ref=hyperallergic.com) > > — B Krypt (@librosnegros) [June 23, 2018](https://twitter.com/librosnegros/status/1010650728602505217?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=hyperallergic.com) > Disney también está comprando a los ecce homo. Por ahora tiene ya a San Jorge de la Estrella y lo ha restaurado. [pic.twitter.com/rnApW1hJ5D](https://t.co/rnApW1hJ5D?ref=hyperallergic.com) > > — Las crónicas de Deckard (@cronicasdeckard) [June 26, 2018](https://twitter.com/cronicasdeckard/status/1011599925036056576?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=hyperallergic.com) > El “restaurador” del San Jorge es fan de Marty Feldman. [pic.twitter.com/xLGRiPXcm7](https://t.co/xLGRiPXcm7?ref=hyperallergic.com) > > — Osa Licenciosa (@OsaLicenciosa) [June 24, 2018](https://twitter.com/OsaLicenciosa/status/1010936803812151298?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=hyperallergic.com) > ARTE: Encargan a Playmobil la restauración de la restauración del San Jorge de Estella. [pic.twitter.com/5BMiDgOrap](https://t.co/5BMiDgOrap?ref=hyperallergic.com) > > — OKDIARREA ™ (@okdiarrea) [June 26, 2018](https://twitter.com/okdiarrea/status/1011535177196195840?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=hyperallergic.com) What do you think?