一幅修復失敗的耶穌畫像如何拯救了一座城

After an 83-year-old widow and amateur painter tried her hand at restoring a nearly century-old fresco of Jesus crowned with thorns in her local church here, she faced nothing but scorn and ridicule.

西班牙博爾哈——一位83歲的寡婦和業餘畫家試圖修復本地教堂一幅擁有將近百年曆史的荊冠基督壁畫，其後面臨了種種譏笑和奚落。

News of the earnest, if utterly failed, restoration in 2012 rocketed around the globe on Twitter and Facebook — the image likened variously to a monkey or hedgehog, and superimposed in memes and parodies on the “Mona Lisa” and a Campbell’s soup can.

2012年，她的修復成果通過Twitter和Facebook飛速傳遍全球——這項工作充滿熱情，不過卻是完全失敗的，人們把她修復的圖像比作猴子和刺蝟，還把它與《蒙娜麗莎》或者坎貝爾(Campbell)湯罐頭的圖案惡搞到一起。

But these days, people in this village of medieval palaces and winding lanes in northeast Spain are giving the artist, Cecilia Giménez, and her work a miraculous reassessment.

博爾哈位於西班牙東北部，擁有中世紀的大廈和蜿蜒小路，如今，它對這位藝術家塞西莉亞·西門尼斯(Cecilia Giménez)和她的作品給予了奇蹟般的重新評估。

Grief has turned to gratitude for divine intervention — the blessing of free publicity — that has made Borja, a town of just 5,000, a magnet for thousands of curious tourists eager to see her handiwork, resurrecting the local economy.

悲傷的情緒變成了對天賜恩典的感激——由於免費宣傳的效應，只有5000人口的博爾哈小鎮吸引了成千上萬想看她作品的好奇遊客，從而振興了當地經濟。

Nearby vineyards are squabbling over rights to splash the image on their wine labels. Her smudgy rendering is now held up as a profound pop art icon.

附近的葡萄園主們正在爭奪把她的作品印上酒標的權利，吵得不可開交。她那拙劣的修復畫作如今成了涵義深遠的流行藝術符號。

Mrs. Giménez — known, Madonna-like, simply as Cecilia — is celebrated each year by residents on Aug. 25, the day of her transfiguration. A comic opera is in the works in the United States, the story of how a woman ruined a fresco and saved a town.

人們都只用西門尼斯女士的名字塞西莉亞來稱呼她——就像聖母一樣。如今，每年8月25日她都會接受居民的慶賀，這一天也是她“變容”（暗指基督的登山變容——譯註）的日子。目前，一部關於她的喜劇歌劇正在美國籌備上演，講述一個女人如何毀掉了一幅壁畫，卻拯救了一座小鎮。

“For me, it’s a story of faith,” said Andrew Flack, the opera’s librettist who traveled to Borja for research on the production, which is still in the works. “It’s a miracle how it has boosted tourism.”

“我覺得這是一個關於信念的故事，”歌劇的劇本作者安德魯·弗拉克(Andrew Flack)說，他曾到博爾哈爲這部歌劇進行研究，歌劇目前在籌備過程中。“它推動了旅遊業，這是一個奇蹟。”

“Why are people coming to see it if it is such a terrible work of art?” he added. “It’s a pilgrimage of sorts, driven by the media into a phenomenon. God works in mysterious ways. Your disaster could be my miracle.”

“如果它是一件糟糕的藝術品，人們又爲什麼來看它？”他補充。“這在某種程度上是一種朝聖，被媒體推動，成爲一種現象。上帝以各種奇蹟般的方式起作用。災難也可以化爲奇蹟。”

Since the makeover, the image has attracted more than 150,000 tourists from around the world — Japan, Brazil, the United States — to the gothic 16th century Sanctuary of Our Lady of Mercy on a mountain overlooking Borja.

自從這次修復工作完成後，這幅壁畫吸引了全世界超過15萬名遊客——有的來自日本、巴西和美國——他們登上這座可以俯瞰博爾哈的山峯，參觀這所16世紀哥特式仁慈聖母聖所。

Visitors pay one euro, or about $1.25, to study the fresco, encased on a flaking wall behind a clear, bolted cover worthy of the Louvre’s Mona Lisa.

參觀者們付一歐元（約合1.25美元），便可參觀這幅壁畫，它繪在一面斑駁的牆壁上，其待遇同盧浮宮的《蒙娜麗莎》一樣，被帶有螺栓，清澈透亮的罩子罩着。

The church’s original “Ecce Homo” (“Behold the Man”) portrait of a mournful Jesus dated to the 1930s, when Elías Garcia Martínez, a Zaragoza art professor, painted it on the church wall.

這幅壁畫名爲《看這個人》（Ecce Homo，彼拉多將戴荊冠的耶穌交給衆人時所說的話——譯註），描繪了悲哀的耶穌形象，其歷史可以追溯到20世紀30年代，作者是薩拉戈薩的藝術教授伊利亞斯·加西亞·馬丁內斯(Elías Garcia Martínez)，他在教堂牆壁上繪下了這幅圖案。

Borja residents did not much notice the painting because the church is dominated by a gilded 18th century baroque altar. But over the years, it bothered Mrs. Giménez to see the bottom third of the fresco vanish, crumbling in the humidity of the dank church.

博爾哈的居民們起先並沒怎麼注意到這幅壁畫，因爲這座教堂的主要部分是一座鍍金的18世紀巴洛克式聖壇。但是多年來，西門尼斯女士卻注意到壁畫的底部三分之一由於教堂的陰冷潮溼而消失，損壞了。

Today, in her home in Borja — in a living room lined with landscapes she has painted — Mrs. Giménez recounted that she spent her summers in an apartment by the church.

西門尼斯位於博爾哈家中的起居室內裝點着她親手繪製的風景畫，她在家中接受採訪，回憶自己曾經在教堂旁邊的公寓裏度過的那些夏日時光。

She said she touched up the portrait repeatedly over the years — with the knowledge of the parish priest and the caretakers, a family that has lived there for generations.

她說，自己多年來一直在對那副壁畫進行潤色，教區教士和教堂看管者們都知道這件事，那些看管者是一個世代居住在教堂的家庭。

But eventually, she said, it required major work, which was abruptly halted after someone complained after the first stage of her brushwork. The story appeared in a local newspaper, then all over the world.

她說，最後壁畫需要進行大修，然而當她完成了繪畫的第一階段，有人抱怨她的畫技，修繕工作也就戛然而止。這個故事先是被刊登在當地報紙上，之後傳遍了世界。

In the beginning, after the news broke, her relatives said she cried and refused to eat.

這則新聞剛開始爆出來的時候，親屬們說她大哭，拒絕進食。

“I felt devastated,” Mrs. Giménez said. “They said it was a crazy, old woman who destroyed a portrait that was worth a lot of money.”

“我覺得自己完蛋了，”西門尼斯說，“他們說這太瘋狂，一個老太太毀了一幅值錢的名畫。”

Today her celebrity has grown. She hands out prizes for a competition of young artists, who paint their own “Ecce Homo” portraits. Children, she said, come by her apartment near the medieval arch of San Francisco and cry: “Look, Cecilia. That’s Cecilia!”

如今，她的名氣日漸增長。她拿出獎金資助一個青年藝術家競賽，讓他們畫出自己的《看這個人》油畫。她說，孩子們來到她位於聖弗朗西斯科中世紀拱門附近的寓所旁邊，叫着：“看啊，塞西莉亞，是塞西莉亞！”

Meanwhile, the longtime parish priest, who insisted that he did not formally authorize the touch-up, has been exiled to Zaragoza.

與此同時，在此地任職甚久，並堅稱自己沒有正式授權西門尼斯修繕壁畫的教區牧師如今已被逐出薩拉戈薩。

In an unrelated case, he has been accused of embezzling 168,000 euros in church funds in a criminal investigation that alleges he was the target of an extortion plot by a Roma clan. In recent months, the judge in charge of the case appealed to the pope to intercede, with the Vatican conducting its own civil investigation.

在一樁與此無關的案件中，他被指控貪污了16.8萬歐元教堂資金，刑事罪案調查稱他被一個羅馬黑幫敲詐勒索。在最近幾個月裏，此案法官訴諸教皇出面斡旋，梵蒂岡也就此案展開了自己的民事調查。

This Christmas, the image of her “Ecce Homo” is stamped on the town’s lottery tickets. The portrait also plays a bit part in a popular Spanish movie, with a couple of thieves trying to steal it.

今年聖誕節，西門尼斯的《看這個人》圖像將印在鎮子的彩票上。它還出現在一部流行的西班牙電影裏，片中有幾個賊想來偷竊它。

“I can’t explain the reaction. I went to see ‘Ecce Homo’ myself, and still I don’t understand it,” said Borja’s mayor, Miguel Arilla, from his art-filled office.

“我沒法解釋這種反應，回過頭去重新看着《看這個人》，我還是沒法理解，”博爾哈的市長米格爾·阿利拉(Miguel Arilla)在充滿藝術氣息的辦公室接受採訪時說。

In the economic crisis of the last six years, 300 jobs vanished, he said, but with the tourism boom, restaurants remained stable. Local museums, he added, also benefited. The nearby Museum of Colegiata, housed in a 16th century Renaissance mansion, experienced a rise in annual visits to 70,000 from 7,000 for its religious, medieval art.

他說，過去六年間，受經濟危機影響，鎮上喪失了300個工作機會，但隨着旅遊業的增長，餐飲業一直很穩定。他還說，本地的博物館也在盈利。附近的克萊吉亞塔博物館坐落在一棟16世紀的文藝復興建築之中，展覽中世紀宗教藝術，年度參觀人次從7000人增長到了七萬人。

But fame has also provoked bickering. The grandchildren of the original artist ceded any share of their rights to benefit a hospital foundation that manages the church, the mayor said.

但是名聲也引發了爭議。市長說，《看這個人》原作者的孫輩們把原本他們從壁畫中獲益的份額全部捐獻給了管理這座教堂的一個醫療基金會。

But, he said, the great-grandchildren sent a letter through a Valencia lawyer seeking to erase the portrait entirely because the work “damages the honor of the family.”

但是，他說，這位藝術家的重孫輩們通過一位巴倫西亞律師寫來一封信，要求徹底清除這幅經修繕的壁畫，因爲它“有損家族榮譽”。

The city already commissioned a professional study that concluded it was impossible to restore the piece.

博爾哈市曾委任專家進行研究，結論是這幅壁畫已經無法恢復原狀。

As president of the hospital foundation, Mr. Arilla is also involved in final negotiations to sell the rights for the exact image to the Aragonesas winery in neighboring Magallón.

阿利拉亦是這個醫療基金會的董事長，他正在參與一項最終談判，把這幅畫的使用權賣給附近馬加利翁的阿拉岡尼薩斯葡萄酒廠。

The winery moved within hours after the news of the failed restoration broke to secure rights to the image, according to Fernando Cura, commercial director for Aragonesas winery. “The opportunity is that suddenly there is this news that marks this region on the map for the entire world,” he said.

這家葡萄酒廠的商業主管費南多·庫拉(Fernando Cura)說，酒廠聽說這則新聞之後幾小時內就行動起來，想獲得這幅畫像的使用權。“我們面臨的機遇是，突然之間這則新聞就讓這個地區爲整個世界所知。”

But four hours later, the Ruberte Brothers winery also tried to register the mark, provoking a legal struggle.

但是四小時後，魯伯特兄弟酒廠也試圖註冊這一商標，從而引發了法律訴訟。

To settle it, Susana Ruberte said her company commissioned an original work by Mrs. Giménez for their special label that finally allowed her to create her own version of “Ecce Homo,” demonstrating that she could actually paint.

蘇珊娜·魯伯特(Susanna Rubert)說，最終解決方案是，她的公司委託西門尼斯繪製一幅原創作品，作爲該公司的特別酒標，這樣，西門尼斯最終可以繪製自己版本的《看這個人》，展示真正由她自己繪製的圖案。

José M. Baya, the owner of La Bóveda, in Borja’s market plaza, freely credits her artistry for helping his business flourish.

博維達餐館位於博爾哈的購物中心，餐館主人何塞·M·巴亞(José M. Baya)認爲正是西門尼斯的藝術才華令自己生意興隆。

His restaurant in an old stone cellar attracts high-spending tourists, including, he said, a Japanese film crew that ordered the entire two-page menu to sample dishes like rabbit and morcilla.

他的飯館坐落在一個古老的石頭地下室裏，吸引高消費的遊客，他說，曾有一個日本電影攝製組把兩頁菜單上的菜全點了，包括兔肉和西班牙血腸之類。

“The impact of ‘Ecce Homo’ has been really great for businesses,” said Mr. Baya, who fared well enough to open a second restaurant. “Sadly, everyone heads to look at a painting that, frankly, is ugly.”

“《看那個人》真的爲商業帶來了很大影響，”巴亞說，現在他的生意已經非常成功，足以再開一家分店。“可悲的是，所有人都去看那副畫，但實話說，它真的很醜。”