Botched art restoration leaves iconic Virgin Mary unrecognizable (photos)

A picture is usually worth a thousand words, but this painting restoration is only worth five: What the hell is this?

An art collector in Valencia, Spain reportedly hired a furniture restorer to come over to clean up his copy of Bartolomé Esteban Murillo’s “The Immaculate Conception of Los Venerables.” The original piece was painted in 1678 and is an interpretation of two important biblical events: the Immaculate Conception and the Assumption.

The furniture restorer charged the art collector almost $1,400 for the job. It appears all went according to plan until the restorer got to the Virgin Mary’s face, which is when either stage fright set in or the restorer became inspired to improvise a little.

The original is on the left. The two attempts at “restoring” it are on the right. Ouch.
“Experts call for regulation after latest botched art restoration in Spain: Immaculate Conception painting by Murillo reportedly cleaned by furniture restorer.”https://t.co/t3kAIZYnNS pic.twitter.com/m8Kabrt7Qu

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Botched art restoration leaves iconic Virgin Mary unrecognizable (photos)

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