Art restoration is a delicate dance between safeguarding history and giving old works a fresh breath. Yet, every so often a well‑meaning effort ends up looking more like a catastrophe than a cure. Some pieces get mangled beyond recognition, others vanish entirely, and one recurring lesson seems crystal clear: never, ever ship a priceless work off to Spain for a touch‑up.

10 worst art: A Quick Overview

10 Ecce Homo: Spain

Ah, Ecce Homo, or as the internet now affectionately (or not‑so‑affectionately) labels it, “Ecce Catastrophe!” Picture a sleepy village in Spain, the modest Santuario de Misericordia, and Elias Garcia Martinez’s tranquil fresco of Jesus keeping watch over his flock. Fast forward to 2012, when an elderly parishioner named Cecilia Giménez decided the iconic image needed a makeover.

In a burst of artistic zeal (or perhaps sheer madness), Cecilia unleashed her inner Picasso on the beloved fresco. The result? Nothing short of a restoration nightmare. The once‑serene Christ was transformed into something that resembled a blurry monkey that had taken a few rounds in a boxing ring.

The botched job turned the tiny town into a worldwide punchline, drawing hordes of tourists eager to see the “masterpiece.” The absurd twist? Local officials even mulled over “restoring” Cecilia’s work back to its original state, turning the whole episode into a meta‑commentary on art, subjectivity, and the perils of over‑enthusiastic hands.

So there you have it: a well‑intentioned act gone wildly astray, leaving a version of Ecce Homo that is arguably more famous for its failure than its original splendor. The takeaway? Sometimes art should simply be left to age, wrinkles and all.

9 St. George Statue: Spain

The St. George statue in Spain started life as a proud embodiment of chivalry, perched in Estella’s streets. Then came a well‑meaning but disastrously misguided restorer, who decided the knight needed a contemporary facelift. Imagine a valiant hero, ready to slay a dragon, now sporting a look that screams, “I’ve seen too many museums.”

The “restoration” (or transformation, depending on how you feel) veered into abstract territory, as the restorer tried to channel Picasso’s cubist phase. St. George’s visage became a puzzling collage of mismatched eyes, each wandering in a different direction, as if searching for a missing dragon. The majestic sword? It now resembled a melted candlestick.

What makes this episode especially cringe‑worthy is the sheer audacity of giving a medieval champion a modern‑art makeover—think skinny jeans on a knight. The statue later underwent a $34,000 “unrestoration” to bring back its original glory. Moral of the story: dragons may be mythical, but a botched restoration is all too real.

8 Santa Bárbara Statue: Brazil

The Santa Bárbara wooden statue in Brazil was once a serene, centuries‑old tribute to the patron saint of lightning and storms. Then, in 2012, a well‑intentioned restorer took the helm, and the result was nothing short of eyebrow‑raising.

The original carving, crafted by an unknown 18th‑century hand, was replaced with a visage that looked like a surreal collaboration between Picasso and Salvador Dali on a particularly wild day. The delicate features were swapped for a storm‑tossed expression that seemed to have weathered far too many tempests.

The end product resembled a modern‑art experiment gone off the rails rather than a venerated religious icon. The statue now stands as a cautionary tale of how even the most sacred works can fall victim to overzealous hands.

7 Mosaics at the Hatay Archaeology Museum: Turkey

The mosaics housed at the Hatay Archaeology Museum in Turkey suffered a disastrous repair that left at least ten priceless Roman pieces, some dating back to the second century, badly scarred. The well‑meaning attempt to mend the ancient tiles ended up distorting their original designs, making them look markedly different from their historic selves.

Restorers added new mosaic fragments into the originals, effectively erasing the authentic character and value of the works. The botched job sparked a full‑scale investigation and forced the museum to suspend all restoration activities. The team denied any wrongdoing, even alleging that before‑and‑after photos had been manipulated in the Turkish press. Imagine destroying priceless art and then trying to convince an entire nation that it never happened.

6 Buddhist Frescoes: Chaoyang China

The nearly 300‑year‑old Buddhist frescoes at Yunjie Temple in Chaoyang, Liaoning Province, China, fell victim to an unauthorized restoration that resembled a cartoon makeover. The restoration crew painted over the centuries‑old images with whimsical, cartoon‑like figures, effectively erasing the original cultural and historical significance.

This reckless act ignited outrage, leading to the dismissal of two officials and a reprimand for a third. Experts eventually recognized that the frescoes required a careful, authentic restoration to return them to their original state, underscoring the importance of proper technique when handling heritage art.

5 Mary and Baby Jesus Statue: Canada

The Mary and Baby Jesus statue at Ste. Anne‑des‑Pins Catholic Church in Sudbury, Canada, became the focus of global attention after a vandalism incident left the infant’s head missing. Local artist Heather Wise stepped in, crafting a bright orange clay replacement for the absent baby.

The new head, however, sparked bemusement and disappointment. Its vivid orange hue clashed starkly with the original white stone, and within a week rain began to erode the terracotta. Parishioners and online observers likened the result to the cartoon character Maggie Simpson.

Eventually, the original missing head was recovered and reattached, but the brief episode highlighted how a well‑meaning fix can quickly become a source of ridicule when aesthetics go awry.

4 15th Century Wooden Sculptures: Ranadoiro, Spain

The 15th‑century wooden sculptures in Ranadoiro, Spain—originally depicting Saint Anna, the Virgin Mary with baby Jesus, and St. Peter—were subjected to an unauthorized repainting by amateur restorer Maria Luisa Menéndez. The statues, once rendered in natural, muted tones, were drenched in garish colors.

Jesus now wore a neon‑green robe, while the Virgin was swathed in bright pink. Critics blasted the makeover as a “huge tragedy” and a “lack of sensitivity.” Experts scrambled to assess the damage and explore possibilities for undoing the crude repainting.

3 The Immaculate Conception by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo

The Immaculate Conception of Los Venerables, painted by 17th‑century Spanish master Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, endured a botched 1813 restoration after being acquired by the Marshal Soult collection. Restorers attempted to strip away varnish but botched the process, ruining Murillo’s delicate glaze. They then resorted to painting over the work, compounding the disaster.

The painting required two more restoration attempts. In 1941, the Museo del Prado took over, adding linen strips to the edges and trying again to remove the faulty varnish and overpaint. However, the surface was so degraded that earlier images began to surface, prompting the team to halt further work.

Was the third attempt the charm? The painting remains a cautionary example of how even the most revered masterpieces can suffer under well‑intentioned but poorly executed interventions.

2 Stone Figure on the Palencia: Spain

The stone figure perched on a building in Palencia, Spain, underwent a controversial restoration that left it looking more like a cartoon character, a potato, or even a likeness of President Donald Trump. The unnamed “restoration expert” seemed to have taken artistic liberty far beyond the original intent.

Locals were less than thrilled with the avant‑garde makeover, likening the new visage to a pile of trash rather than a work of art. Some joked that a sign should read, “Welcome to Palencia, where even stone figures need a makeover.”

1 Leonardo da Vinci’s Orpheus Being Attacked by the Furies

Leonardo da Vinci’s drawing Orpheus Being Attacked by the Furies, once part of a private collection in 1998, suffered a catastrophic restoration attempt. Conservators tried to loosen the sketch from its backing using an alcohol‑and‑water solution.

The chemical mixture triggered a reaction that caused the ink to fade and disappear, inflicting irreversible damage on the priceless artwork. This mishap underscored the critical need for proper expertise and techniques when handling delicate historical pieces.

The archeological community has conflicting views when it comes to the restoration and protection of valuable archaeological discoveries. Historical artifacts and ancient structures are incredibly delicate; they can never be reconstructed after they have been disturbed and can never be replaced after they have been lost.

Numerous archeological restorations have taken place over the past few decades, often restoring the former glory of a specific site in a spectacular fashion. However, given the infinite harm caused by faulty and ignorant restorations conducted in the last century, archeologists today try their best to conserve new and important sites as they are found—restoring them with minimal interference—giving us a peek into our history and our shared human heritage.

So let’s dig into more details about the restorations of these amazing archaeological discoveries.

Related: 10 Strange Archaeological Discoveries

10 The Pyramid of Djoser, Egypt

Believed to be Egypt’s first stone pyramid, the Pyramid of Djoser was only recently reopened to the public after a meticulous and painstaking restoration that took more than 14 years and $6.6 million to complete. Legends say that the architect Imhotep planned and supervised the construction of the 197-foot (60-meter) structure nearly 4,700 years ago—the very first perpendicular tomb for the Pharaoh Djoser. Although the pyramid seems like a compact mountain of stone from the outside, the inside is actually a vacuous network of walkways over 3 miles (4.8 kilometers) long, assembled with over 11.6 million cubic feet (328,500 cubic meters) of stone and clay.

In fact, it was the complicated interior that inescapably endangered its structural integrity as time went by, while its foundation was almost decimated by the earthquake that hit Cairo in 1992. In order to guarantee structural safety during the restoration, airbags developed by structural engineers were placed across the most vulnerable sections of the pyramid. In addition, steel rods were run through its steps like rebar to help keep its shape. These distinct approaches to its fortification allowed the restoration teams to repair the corridors and ceilings while introducing a new framework for interior lighting. They also added one or two modern updates to make the structure more accessible for people with disabilities.^[1]

9 Somnath Temple, India

The 12 Jyotirlingas or Jyotirlingam are the places where Lord Shiva is said to have manifested as a pillar of fire. The Somnath Temple in Gujarat, India, is renowned for hosting one of the twelve. As such, it is a significant tourist and sacred religious site. Throughout history, the temple was reconstructed and restored repeatedly due to its destruction by numerous invaders and their subsequent rule. The present temple was reconstructed again after being pulled down in October 1950 to be relocated to a new site a few miles away.

India’s temples have a long history of devastation and restoration. The restoration of the Somnath Temple was hailed as a leading example of India’s excellence when it came to the power of restoration over the power of devastation. Political leaders saw its restoration as an act that returned the nation’s pride as it took place shortly after India gained its independence from Britain.^[2]

8 The Petra Complex, Jordan

The ruins of Petra have been popularized by films such as Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Abandoned in the 6th century, Petra was developed in a seismic zone, making it susceptible to damage from floods and earthquakes. The site was also under considerable threat due to the continuous influx of tourists at the end of the 20th century.

During the 1990s, Petra was included on the World Monuments Fund’s Watch List in an attempt to address its tourism management issues. The WMF, the Jordanian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, and the Petra National Trust joined forces and developed a long-term site plan. In addition to other studies, a number of projects led to the restoration of the magnificent Great Temple, several of the columns, the entrance gorge, and the Byzantine Church, as well as the reconstruction of the site’s ancient water canals.^[3]

7 Temple of Borobudur, Indonesia

Built from the 8th to the 9th centuries AD, the Borobudur complex was abandoned seemingly overnight in the 1500s. There are three historical sites within the Borobudur Complex: the Borobudur Temple and two smaller temples, built on a horizontal plane to Borobudur to the east. The two small temples are known as the Pawon Temple and the Mendut Temple.

Over the years, the site was covered with ash due to volcanic activity, and Java’s plant life eventually covered the historic ruins. Thomas Stamford Raffles, the then-English governor, began operations to locate and reclaim the site in 1814. It took his team over two months to finally uncover the temples.

In 1972, UNESCO launched an international campaign to restore the illustrious Buddhist temple to its former glory. The restoration work was completed after 11 years in 1983. Historians made use of the site’s existing materials to reconstruct the temple in two stages. Almost all the site’s existing materials were used with only minor additions to strengthen and reinforce the structure and allow adequate water runoff, which did not affect the site’s integrity and value.^[4]

6 The Sistine Chapel Frescoes, The Vatican City

The building of the Vatican’s iconic Sistine Chapel, located just north of St. Peter’s Basilica, was authorized by Pope Sixtus IV and finalized around 1481. The chapel is internationally known for the number of invaluable art masterpieces it contains. In fact, several famous artists, among the most illustrious Renaissance artists of all time, including Botticelli and Perugino, contributed significantly to the artworks that can be found on the walls inside the chapel. Pope Julius II asked Michelangelo to beautify the ceiling, keeping the artist busy from 1508 to 1512. The glorious portrait of the Last Judgment by Michelangelo, painted in 1541, was sanctioned by Pope Clement VII.

Michelangelo’s artworks are revered as some of the most remarkable works of Western art ever to be brought into existence. The artworks of the Sistine Chapel and, more specifically, the ceiling and the concomitant apertures by Michelangelo have undergone several restorations over the years, of which the most recent took place between 1980 and 1994.

Its most recent restoration had a significant impact on both art lovers and art historians, as colors and details never seen before were revealed. Many have argued that as a direct consequence, every single book ever written about Michelangelo’s techniques will have to be revised. In short, it means the reevaluation of his style, use of color, and artform as a whole, probably leading to a new vision of the brilliance of the High Renaissance, arguably the single best period in Western art.^[5]

5 Karnak Temple Complex, Egypt

The ancient Karnak temple precinct covers an area of more than 247 acres (1 square kilometer) and was located at the eastern bank of the Nile River in Thebes (known as Luxor today). The building at the site began over 4,000 years ago, and it continued non-stop until the Romans besieged Egypt and took over rule roughly 2,000 years ago. What makes Karnak stand out from the other temple sites located in Egypt is the amount of time it was in use and actively being developed. Evidence points to at least thirty pharaohs’ contributions to the site, allowing it to obtain size, sophistication, and variability that cannot be found anywhere else.

Over the last 100 years, rising water tables and chemical deterioration directly related to agricultural irrigation in the area have created many new preservation concerns. As most of the building facades and other surfaces contain hieroglyphs and relief carvings, this degradation causes severe damage to the historical evidence, endangering the stability of the site and compromising the ability of historians to garner the context and meaning of them.

Several ground-breaking techniques, including the use of lime mortar, have been used to restore many of the temples, pillars, walkways, and statues on the site over the last few decades. Most notable among these were the restoration of Luxor Temple and the Precinct of Amun-Re, the painted chapels in the Temple of Khonsu, and the ongoing restoration of the 29 ram statues in the first courtyard.^[6]

4 The Parthenon, Greece

The Parthenon is the perfect embodiment of Greek architecture and is regarded as one of the most important surviving buildings of ancient Greece. Apart from being the central hub of religion in Athens, its sculptures, statues, and other works of art have never been replicated and continue to stand as some of the finest examples of Greek sophistication and refinement. Built around 500 BC, the Parthenon was a symbol of wealth, power, and success and continues to be one of the most widely recognized structures in the world to this day.

The Acropolis Restoration Project was born in the 1970s when the Greek government chose to take significant action to restore the rapidly deteriorating structures. The committee carefully mapped out each and every artifact and remnant in the rubble and used 3D mapping techniques to identify its original position.

Although this restoration is still currently underway, the restoration team plans to enhance original Parthenon objects with exciting new components where possible to maintain the site’s integrity while also staying water and corrosion-resistant. They will also use new marble from the original quarry site if necessary to finalize the restoration to stay true to the building’s original look and feel. However, it will not be completely restored. Instead, it will remain a partial ruin to display its unique features, reflecting its notable history.^[7]

3 The Vasa, Vasa Museum, Sweden

To rescue and exhibit any historically significant shipwreck to the general public in this day and age is no minor undertaking. Yet one of the greatest examples can be found at the Vasa Museum in Stockholm, one of the best tourist destinations in Sweden. The Vasa was King Gustav Adolphus’s custom warship that sank in 1628 on its maiden voyage only 4,265 feet (1,300 meters) into its journey after a gust of wind toppled the ship on its side. As it flooded, the ship sank into the shallow waters of Stockholm’s harbor and lay there until its rediscovery in 1956, 328 years later

The battered ship was salvaged over two years, from 1959 to 1961, and was sent to a storage facility. Over the next 29 years, the Vasa underwent a meticulous and extensive cleaning process and was slowly restored to its former glory. In honor of the grand Swedish icon, the museum was opened in 1990.^[8]

2 The Terracotta Army, China

Although most of us have heard of or know of the impressive Terracotta Warriors that were unveiled in China in 1974, few realize that they were actually not discovered intact. Figures on the total number of terracotta warriors differ as the site is still being excavated, and new discoveries are being made today. In fact, only one of the nearly 8,000 warriors we know of was discovered in one piece.

To date, archaeologists have discovered more than 600 pits across the network of large underground caverns. Although most remain unexcavated for now, three very large pits were enclosed within the Terracotta Army Museum, today forming one of China’s most popular tourist attractions. Each exposed pit on display is quite unique. In one, you can find the perfectly reassembled warriors standing in formation, while a second pit will show you how the warriors appeared when they were first discovered—toppled and cracked. The third pit is the smallest and represents the command post.^[9]

1 The Archaeological Park of Pompeii, Italy

Although Pompeii’s restorations probably deserve a list on their own, we thought we could highlight some of the restoration work done to date. The tombs, rich dwellings, and public spaces of Pompeii have been ransacked by robbers since coordinated archaeological digs commenced in the 18th century and, in some early cases, “restored” so ferociously as to ruin the original remains. In 2008, the Italians officially announced a year-long state of emergency for Pompeii. After a massive influx of negative publicity, the European Commission also came on board and approved funding to the tune of €105 million (about $116 million) to secure the site.

Among the first key recommendations was safeguarding everything that had already been excavated. (A third of the archeological site remains underground to this day.) Laborers put every effort into stabilizing the ancient buildings and stone walls, frescoes were restored, and new stormwater runoff systems were installed to redirect rainwater. Numerous surveillance cameras were also put in place across the ancient city to guard Pompeii’s hundreds of daily visitors. In all, the project paved the way for more than 130,000 square feet (12,077 square meters) of the archaeological site to be restored and launched (in some cases reopened) to tourists, which include Julia Felix’s estate and over 36 other structures.^[10]