Spanish-born Woman Who Found Notoriety for Mishandling a Famous Fresco Repair Has Died at the Age of 94
The elderly woman from Spain who made international headlines for her poorly executed restoration attempt on a valuable religious painting has died at the age 94.
The woman, from the town of Borja in northeast Spain, rose to prominence 13 years ago after she undertook to repaint a century-old painting titled Ecce Homo located in her parish church.
Giménez's restoration effort spread across the internet and earned the moniker "Potato Jesus", largely due to the resulting likeness of Christ's head bearing a resemblance to a hairy monkey.
Local Announcement and Homage
The 94-year-old's passing was confirmed by Borja's mayor, Eduardo Arilla, via an online statement, where he described her as a "great enthusiast of painting from a young age".
"Descansa en paz Cecilia, we will always remember you," Arilla wrote.
Arilla further referenced Giménez's "now-legendary restoration of Ecce Homo" in August 2012, which "because of the poor state of conservation it presented, Cecilia, with the best intentions, decided to repaint the work over".
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 resided for more than a century in the Sanctuary of Mercy Church near Zaragoza.
In 2012, Giménez, then 81, stated that church members had "always repaired everything here", and that she had been given the go-ahead from the local priest to do the work.
She added at the time that anybody who entered the Church would have observed she was applying paint to the original image.
An Unexpected Economic Lifeline
The impact of the restoration spawned the "Ecce Mono" meme and transformed the once quiet town of Borja rapidly turn into a significant tourist destination.
The municipality, which had in the past welcomed just five thousand tourists per year, attracted over 40,000 tourists by 2013, and managed to raise over €50,000 for charity from the interest.
Today, officials estimate that somewhere around 15,000 and 20,000 tourists travel to Borja each year to see the notorious painting, which is now protected by a protective shield of glass.
Legacy and Community Admiration
After recovering from the wave of criticism, with support from the townspeople and others around the world, Giménez later hold an art exhibition showcasing 28 of her personal works.
She was praised by Borja's mayor for her kind-hearted nature and decades of dedication to the church.
In the end, what began as a sincere but flawed art repair forged an unlikely piece of pop culture and brought unprecedented tourist revenue to a small Spanish town.
