Spanish-born Woman Who Gained Notoriety for Botching a Famous Fresco Restoration Has Died at the Age of 94
The Spanish parishioner who made international headlines for her infamous repair job on a cherished Jesus Christ fresco has passed away at the age of 94.
Cecilia Giménez, a resident of the town of Borja in northeast Spain, became a global sensation 13 years ago after she undertook to repaint a 100-year-old fresco known as Ecce Homo located in her parish church.
Giménez's handiwork spread across the internet and earned the moniker "Monkey Christ", because the altered likeness 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, via an online statement, where he described her as a "passionate enthusiast of painting from a young age".
"Descansa en paz Cecilia, your memory will live on with us," Arilla wrote.
Arilla also paid tribute to Giménez's "now-legendary restoration of Ecce Homo" in August 2012, which "due to the deteriorated condition it was in, Cecilia, with the best intentions, decided to apply new paint over the original".
The Artwork's Background and the Fateful Act
The Ecce Homo ("Behold the Man" in Latin) by 19th century artist Elias Garcia Martinez had resided for more than a hundred years in the Santuario de la Misericordia close to Zaragoza.
At the time, 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 proceed.
She also noted that anybody who entered the Church would have seen she was applying paint to the original image.
A Surprising Tourist Boom
The impact of the repaint job spawned the "Ecce Mono" meme and saw the previously sleepy town of Borja quickly become a major tourist destination.
The municipality, which had previously seen only 5,000 tourists per year, received more than 40,000 tourists by 2013, and generated more than €50,000 for charity from the interest.
Currently, officials estimate that somewhere around 15,000 and 20,000 tourists travel to Borja each year to view the notorious portrait, which is now protected by a protective shield of glass.
Legacy and Local Support
After recovering from the wave of criticism, backed by local residents and well-wishers globally, Giménez went on to hold an art exhibition showcasing 28 of her personal works.
She was praised by the mayor for her kind-hearted nature 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.
