Statue restoration goes wrong as critics complain it now resembles Donald Trump

A clumsy restoration job has left a historic Spanish sculpture of a woman looking like Donald Trump, critics have complained.

The renovated statue above a bank in Palencia, Spain, has been mocked relentlessly online.

It has drawn unflattering comparisons with a 19th-century painting of Jesus that was famously dubbed "monkey Christ" after a devout church-goer tried to restore it.

The statue has been dubbed 'The Potato Head of Palencia’ (Facebook)

Pictures of the botched job were posted on social media by painter Antonio Guzman, who said it looked "like a cartoon."

The original 1923 sculpture of a smiling maiden surrounded by livestock now has a misshapen lumpy nose, two uneven eyes, and a melted looking appearance.

The makeover has sparked anger amongst art lovers, who have compared the transformation to a "cartoon", "Potato head" and the US President Donald Trump, the Art Newspaper reports.

One furious critic joked: "Seeing as he has to leave the White House, he’s moved in here." 

The identity of the person who 'restored' the sculpture has not been released.

The nightmare job has left people in stitches on Facebook.

One person joked: "Looks like someone's nephew did it cheaper."

Another commented: "A genre of news story I will never, ever tire of."

A third added: "It is truly unprofessional how much I enjoy it when this happens.

Tourists flocked to see the botched painting after it was restored by a church goer (Handout)

The botched restoration job sparked flashbacks to 2012 when a devout church-goer tried to restore a painting of Christ on the wall of a church in the Spanish town of Borja.

80-year-old Celia Gimenez decided to touch up the worn fresco of Christ wearing a crown of thorns at her church in Borja, Spain.

But critics said she made Jesus Christ look like a monkey, sparking the name "Monkey Christ."

On Twitter, Spain’s Professional Association of Restorers and Conservators (ACRE) wrote that the job was "NOT a professional restoration".

In July, the ACRE's vice president Maria Borjas said stricter regulations were needed to stop the amateur attempts.

She warned "They are unfortunately much more frequent than you think.

"Spain's cultural heritage is in a fairly vulnerable situation."