Disastrous restoration of celebrated religious sculptures sparks outrage in Brazil as Virgin Mary is given 'lipstick and bulging eyes'

By TARYN KAUR PEDLER, FOREIGN NEWS REPORTER Published: 16:15, 15 June 2026 | Updated: 16:21, 15 June 2026 Disastrous amateur restorations of celebrated religious sculptures have sparked outrage in Brazil as they have been left looking like heavily made-up cartoon characters. The botched job left the Virgin Mary, Jesus and other figures with aggressively arched eyebrows, bulging eyes, thick eyelashes, and bright red lips. The renovation drew fierce criticism from locals who branded the work disrespectful and amateurish. The sculptures, which depict scenes from the Passion of Christ, had deteriorated over time due to weather exposure. The parish commissioned maintenance work, but the chosen painter's heavy-handed approach shocked the community and quickly went viral. The religious statues at the Calvary monument on the Praça do Cruzeiro public square in Carmo do Cajuru, Brazil, have since been stripped of the new paint and covered up. Residents shared before-and-after images of the monument, a well-known local religious landmark, which went viral on social media. The parish was duly inundated with complaints. Disastrous amateur restorations of celebrated religious sculptures have sparked outrage in Brazil  The botched job left the Virgin Mary with aggressively arched eyebrows, bulging eyes, thick eyelashes, and bright red lips The sculptures, which depict scenes from the Passion of Christ, had deteriorated over time due to weather exposure The religious statues at the Calvary monument on the Praça do Cruzeiro public square in Carmo do Cajuru, Brazil, have since been stripped of the new paint and covered up Many described the painted faces as 'depredation' of cultural heritage, with comments such as 'they painted Jesus' eye all crooked' and 'what an eyesore'. In response, the Nossa Senhora do Carmo Parish and its Pastoral Council removed the fresh paint on the same day, restoring the sculptures' original white finish. Church officials acknowledged the error in a statement, admitting the result 'caused discomfort to many faithful and residents'. A spokesperson added: 'The historic pieces were heavily worn down by time, but we absolutely did not like the final visual result of this intervention. 'The facial features were painted on in an entirely mistaken fashion, which is why we acted immediately to reverse it.' They declined to name the individual or firm responsible, citing ethical reasons. The parish has now launched a search for a qualified specialist in sacred art restoration to carry out proper conservation work on the weathered pieces. The local council stressed it had no involvement in the project and reminded residents that any work on public assets requires prior authorisation. A spokesperson said: 'The upkeep and painting of these religious images was not contracted, authorised, or requested by the municipality.' No timeline has yet been given for the specialist restoration. One of the most famous cases of a botched restoration occurred in the small town of Borja, Spain, when 81-year-old Cecilia Giménez attempted to restore a faded 1930 Ecce Homo fresco in August 2012. Her untrained efforts turned the sombre Jesus into the internet-famous 'Monkey Christ'. But what started as mockery has since attracted over 250,000 visitors, boosting Borja's local economy. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.