China sackings over ruined ancient Buddhist frescos
22 October 2013 Last updated at 13:00 ET
With its bright colours and bold lines, the new fresco on display at a Chinese temple is certainly eye-catching. Unfortunately, it bears no resemblance to the delicate historical images it replaced – prompting anger and the sacking of officials who authorised the botched restoration.
The case is reminiscent of the ham-fisted retouching of an image of Christ in a Spanish church, which earned comparisons to a hairy monkey. That restoration was so spectacularly bad that an estimated 40,000 visitors flocked to Borja, near Zaragoza, to see it.
Whether the crude, cartoon-like images at the Yunjie temple in Chaoyang, Liaoning province, have the same pull remains to be seen. What is clear is that they have little in common with the delicate wall paintings that preceded them, in a hall built during the
Qing dynasty (1644-1911).
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-24625277
Before:
After: