Spanish-born Woman Who Found Notoriety for Mishandling a Prized Fresco Repair Has Died at the Age of 94
The elderly woman from Spain who achieved global fame for her infamous repair job on a cherished Jesus Christ fresco has passed away at the age of 94.
Cecilia Giménez, from the town of Borja in northern Spain, rose to prominence 13 years ago after she undertook to restore a century-old fresco titled Ecce Homo housed within her local church.
Giménez's handiwork spread across the internet and earned the moniker "Potato Jesus", largely due to the altered depiction of Christ's head bearing a resemblance to a hairy monkey.
Local Announcement and Tribute
The nonagenarian's death was confirmed by Borja's mayor, Eduardo Arilla, in a social media post, where he described her as a "passionate lover of painting from a young age".
"Descansa en paz Cecilia, we will always remember you," the mayor posted.
Arilla further referenced Giménez's "now-legendary restoration of Ecce Homo" in the summer of 2012, which "because of the deteriorated condition it was in, Cecilia, with the best intentions, chose to repaint the work over".
The Artwork's History and the Fateful Intervention
The Ecce Homo ("Behold the Man" in Latin) painted by nineteenth-century artist Elias Garcia Martinez had been held for over a century in the Sanctuary of Mercy Church close to Zaragoza.
In 2012, Giménez, then 81, explained that church members had "traditionally fixed everything here", and that she had received permission from the parish priest to do the work.
She added at the time that anybody who came into the Church would have seen she was applying paint to the original image.
A Surprising Economic Lifeline
The impact of the restoration spawned the "Monkey Christ" internet phenomenon and saw the previously sleepy town of Borja quickly become a major visitor attraction.
The town, which had previously seen only five thousand tourists per year, received over 40,000 tourists by 2013, and managed to raise over €50,000 for charity from the attention.
Currently, officials say that between 15,000 and 20,000 tourists travel to Borja every year to see the notorious painting, which is now protected by a protective shield of glass.
Legacy and Local Admiration
Following the initial backlash, backed by local residents and others globally, Giménez later hold an art exhibition featuring 28 of her own works.
She was commended by Borja's mayor for her generosity and decades of dedication to the parish.
In the end, what began as a sincere but flawed act of restoration created an unlikely cultural icon and brought unprecedented tourist revenue to a small Spanish town.
