The elderly woman from Spain who made international headlines for her infamous restoration attempt on a valuable Jesus Christ fresco has died at the age 94.
Cecilia Giménez, from the town of Borja in northeast Spain, rose to prominence 13 years ago after she attempted to repaint a century-old painting known as Ecce Homo housed within her local church.
Giménez's handiwork quickly went viral and was dubbed "Potato Jesus", largely due to the resulting depiction of Christ's head looking somewhat like a furry primate.
Local Announcement and Homage
The 94-year-old's death was confirmed by Borja's mayor, Eduardo Arilla, in a social media post, where he described her as a "passionate enthusiast of painting from a very early age".
"Rest in peace Cecilia, your memory will live on with us," Arilla wrote.
Arilla also paid tribute to Giménez's "famous restoration of Ecce Homo" in August 2012, which "due to the deteriorated condition it was in, Cecilia, acting in good faith, decided to apply new paint over the original".
The Painting's Background and the Now-Infamous Act
The Ecce Homo ("This is the Man" in Latin) by 19th century painter Elias Garcia Martinez had resided for more than a century in the Santuario de la Misericordia near Zaragoza.
In 2012, Giménez, then 81, stated that parishioners had "always repaired everything here", and that she had received permission from the parish priest to do the work.
She also noted that anyone who entered the Church would have seen she was applying paint to the existing image.
A Surprising Economic Lifeline
The aftermath of the repaint job spawned the "Monkey Christ" internet phenomenon and saw the previously sleepy town of Borja rapidly turn into a major visitor attraction.
The municipality, which had in the past seen only five thousand visitors per year, attracted over 40,000 tourists by 2013, and generated more than €50,000 for charity from the interest.
Currently, officials say that somewhere around 15,000 and 20,000 tourists travel to Borja each year to see the notorious portrait, which is now displayed behind a pane of glass.
Legacy and Community Support
Following the wave of criticism, backed by local residents and others around the world, Giménez later hold an exhibition of her paintings showcasing twenty-eight of her own works.
She was commended by the mayor for her generosity and years of faithful service to the church.
Ultimately, what began as a well-intentioned but flawed art repair created an improbable cultural icon and brought unprecedented tourist revenue to a humble Spanish town.
