A Botched Statue Restoration in Spain. Is That St. George or Tintin?

Five hundred years in an alcove of a Spanish church is likely to leave any statue looking a bit cracked and faded, and the 16th-century wooden figure of St. George at St. Michael’s Church in Estella, a town in northern Spain, was no exception.

But after the church asked a local workshop to give the statue a makeover, the results horrified the town’s authorities, scandalized professional restorers and set social media alight with indignation.

Instead of returning the statue to its original glory, the so-called restoration left St. George looking more like a childish model of a cartoon character than a precious piece of art.