The Palencia "restoration" is the latest in an infamous line of non-professional art rehabs in Spain, including a 2012 repainting of a 19th-century fresco of Jesus, done by an 81-year-old church member, that gained the unfortunate worldwide nickname of "Monkey Christ".
This combo pictures shows a sculpture before (right) and after being restored (left) on the exterior of an ornate office building in the city of Palencia, Spain. The latest in a series of freaky art restoration attempts to hit Spain has been spotted in the northern city of Palencia.
The mangled makeover of the artwork, which once depicted a lady smiling next to livestock, sparked anger from conservationists and art lovers, who compared the sculpture's new look to a "Potato head", "Donald Trump", and a "cartoon", according to The Art Newspaper.
As the edition writes The sun, local artist Antonio Guzmán posted before and after photos of one of the sculptures undergoing restoration on social media.
"I don't understand why they allow it", Capel told CNN. The incident happened at the Unicaja bank's building in the Spanish city of Palencia and has become the butt of jokes on social media, and even prompted a comparison to United States president Donald Trump.
Capel, whose studio is across the road from the statue, said he hasn't been able to find out who completed the restoration, or who commissioned it. "This must be at least 10-years-old, and we're only finding out now".
Now, Spanish media are showing images of people stopping to stare up at the building and to take photos.
Capel believes the attempted restoration is worse than the famous job on a flaking fresco of Jesus on a church wall in the town of Borja in 2012.
However, her work turned into a Borja tourist attraction.
It's drawn comparisons to another infamous restoration work dubbed "Monkey Christ". It also recalls the botched fix-up of an Immaculate Conception painting earlier this year, also in Spain.
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