By: MICHELLE PARK
Staff Writer
The picture on the left is the original painting, the picture in the middle is the painting after damage, and the picture on the right is the restored painting. We can easily recognize that the restored painting on the right is very different from the original. As you can see from the original painting, the person in this painting is Jesus.
This painting is a mural, and this mural began to deteriorate over about 100 years. Eventually, in 2012, Cecilia Jimenez, a painter in the town, received permission from the cathedral and proceeded with restoration work. However, after the construction was completed, people were shocked by the finished work because the painting which was supposed to be a mural of Jesus looked like a monkey.
The granddaughter of the original owner, who decided that restoration was impossible, prepared a lawsuit. However, photos of the ruined mural started to attract a lot of attention on social media. People called this painting the Monkey Christ, and about 70,000 tourists have visited to see the work.
Some say Jimenez should be punished for damaging the painting, while others say she recreated the painting into her own new work.