There’s been another sacrilegious restoration in the land of “Beast Jesus.”
The most recent “restoration” plunder in Spain has taken place in the northwestern region of Asturias, in the village of Rañadorio. A local tobacco shop owner, María Luisa Menéndez, has brightly repainted a 15th-century sculptural trinity of Mary, Saint Anne, and baby Jesus, as well as two other figures—one of Saint Peter and a second Virgin Mary.
Menéndez gave the wooden figures a neon makeover, including fresh eyeliner and lipstick. The amateur painter has defended her decision, saying that the statues in the shrine needed a paint job. She said that she had received permission from the local clergy, according to local media reports.
“I’m not a professional painter but I’ve always liked painting and the statues really needed painting,” she told El Comercio. “I painted them as best I could using what I thought were the right colors. The neighbors liked them too. Ask around here and you’ll find out.”
Apparently local news outlets did find some supportive locals (the town has 16 residents). But Genaro Alonso, the regional minister for culture and education in Asturias, disagrees. He called the amateur work more “a vengeance than a restoration,” according to the newspaper La Voz de Asturias. Read more