Spanish Parishioner Who Gained Fame for Botching a Famous Fresco Restoration Has Died at the Age of 94
The Spanish parishioner who achieved global fame for her infamous restoration attempt on a valuable religious painting has died at the age of 94.
Cecilia Giménez, a resident of the town of Borja in northeast Spain, rose to prominence thirteen years ago after she attempted to repaint a 100-year-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 altered depiction of Christ's head looking somewhat like a hairy monkey.
Official Confirmation and Homage
The nonagenarian's passing was announced by the town's mayor, Eduardo Arilla, via an online statement, where he acknowledged her as a "great lover of painting from a young age".
"Rest in peace Cecilia, we will always remember you," Arilla wrote.
Arilla further referenced Giménez's "famous restoration of Ecce Homo" in the summer of 2012, which "because of the deteriorated condition it presented, Cecilia, with the best intentions, decided to apply new paint over the original".
The Artwork's Background and the Now-Infamous Intervention
The Ecce Homo ("This is the Man" in Latin) by nineteenth-century artist Elias Garcia Martinez had been held for more than a century in the Santuario de la Misericordia near Zaragoza.
At the time, Giménez, who was 81 years old, stated that church members had "traditionally fixed everything here", and that she had received permission from the local priest to proceed.
She added at the time that anybody who came into the church would have observed she was applying paint to the original artwork.
An Unexpected Tourist Boom
The aftermath of the restoration led to the creation of 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 welcomed just 5,000 visitors per year, attracted over 40,000 tourists by 2013, and generated more than €50,000 for charity from the interest.
Today, local authorities say that somewhere around 15,000 and 20,000 tourists travel to Borja each year to see the notorious painting, which is now displayed behind a pane of glass.
Legacy and Local Admiration
After recovering from the wave of criticism, with support from the townspeople and others around the world, Giménez later stage an exhibition of her paintings featuring 28 of her personal paintings.
She was praised by the mayor for her kind-hearted nature and years of dedication to the parish.
Ultimately, what began as a well-intentioned but unsuccessful act of restoration created an unlikely piece of pop culture and provided unprecedented attention and resources to a humble Spanish town.
