A religious shrine dating back to the 19th century has been mocked after a botched restoration attempt left the Virgin Mary and Jesus Christ with cartoonish-looking faces.
The shrine, located near the village of Studzionka, in Poland, has recently undergone restoration which left the Virgin Mary with yellow skin and giant white eyes giving her a crazed look on her face, as if she were a poorly-drawn character from ‘The Simpsons’.
Jesus, meanwhile, has been mocked for sporting grey underpants.
The shrine dates back to 1820, according to reports, and is listed as a registered monument.
The authorities said that no changes could be made to the religious figures without the approval of a regional conservator and that no such permission had been granted.
They are currently investigating who is behind the botched restoration.
Miroslaw Rymer, a spokesman for the Silesian Conservator of Monuments, said: “We will now carry out an inspection to determine how much damage has been done to the monument.”
The anonymous author of the restoration also covered up an original German inscription on the shrine, replacing it with ‘VII 2024, JC 2’ scribbled in what looks to be black marker pen.
While the new inscription suggests that the bungled restoration occurred last year, only now has the conservator been alerted after being sent photographs by a member of the public.
Many netizens slammed the renovation as “barbaric.”
And one netizen said: “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.”
Another compared them to the Simpsons, saying: “In The Simpsons, this painter would have gotten a job, but it’s a fact—I often see how ‘painters’ restore statues…
“Recently, I saw a beautiful statue of Jesus in an old photo, and the new repainting doesn’t even take into account that the robe is red on the outside and light on the inside—everything is just painted red.
“On top of that, there are those overly bright or excessively pastel colours… It’s better not to touch it than to ruin it.”
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Story By: Joseph Golder, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Newsflash
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