Spanish-born Woman Who Found Notoriety for Mishandling a Prized Fresco Restoration Has Died at Age 94
The elderly woman from Spain who achieved global fame for her poorly executed repair job on a valuable Jesus Christ fresco has passed away at the age of 94.
The woman, a resident of the town of Borja in northeast Spain, rose to prominence thirteen years ago after she attempted to restore a century-old painting titled Ecce Homo housed within her local church.
Giménez's handiwork quickly went viral and earned the moniker "Potato Jesus", largely due to the resulting depiction of Christ's head looking somewhat like a hairy monkey.
Official Confirmation and Tribute
The nonagenarian's passing was announced by the town's mayor, Eduardo Arilla, in a social media post, where he acknowledged her as a "passionate enthusiast of painting from a young age".
"Rest in peace Cecilia, your memory will live on with us," Arilla wrote.
Arilla further referenced Giménez's "famous restoration of Ecce Homo" in August 2012, which "because of the deteriorated condition it was in, Cecilia, acting in good faith, chose to repaint the work over".
The Artwork's History and the Now-Infamous Intervention
The Ecce Homo ("This is the Man" in Latin) painted by nineteenth-century painter Elias Garcia Martinez had been held for over a century in the Santuario de la Misericordia close to Zaragoza.
At the time, Giménez, who was 81 years old, explained that church members had "traditionally fixed everything here", and that she had received permission from the parish priest to proceed.
She also noted that anybody who came into the Church would have observed she was painting over the original artwork.
An Unexpected Tourist Boom
The impact of the restoration led to the creation of the "Monkey Christ" internet phenomenon and saw the previously sleepy town of Borja quickly become a major tourist destination.
The town, which had previously seen only 5,000 visitors per year, received more than 40,000 tourists by 2013, and managed to raise more than €50,000 for charity from the interest.
Today, local authorities estimate 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.
Later Life and Community Support
Following the initial backlash, backed by local residents and well-wishers around the world, Giménez later hold an exhibition of her paintings showcasing twenty-eight of her own paintings.
She was commended by the mayor for her kind-hearted nature and decades of dedication to the parish.
Ultimately, what began as a sincere but unsuccessful art repair forged an improbable cultural icon and brought remarkable attention and resources to a small Spanish town.
