Spanish-born Parishioner Who Gained Notoriety for Botching a Famous Fresco Repair Dies at the Age of 94

The Spanish parishioner who made international headlines for her infamous repair job 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 13 years ago after she attempted to restore a 100-year-old fresco titled Ecce Homo located in her parish church.

Giménez's restoration effort quickly went viral and was dubbed "Monkey Christ", largely due to the resulting depiction of Christ's head bearing a resemblance to a hairy monkey.

Local Confirmation and Tribute

The 94-year-old's death was announced by the town's mayor, Eduardo Arilla, in a social media post, where he described her as a "great 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 "famous restoration of Ecce Homo" in August 2012, which "due to the deteriorated condition it was in, Cecilia, acting in good faith, decided to apply new paint over the original".

The Artwork's History and the Fateful Act

The Ecce Homo ("This is the Man" in Latin) by nineteenth-century artist Elias Garcia Martinez had resided for more than a hundred years in the Sanctuary of Mercy Church near Zaragoza.

In 2012, Giménez, then 81, stated that parishioners 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 anyone who entered the church would have observed she was painting over the existing artwork.

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 visitor attraction.

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 more than €50,000 for charity from the attention.

Today, local authorities say that between 15,000 and 20,000 tourists travel to Borja every year to view the notorious painting, which is now displayed behind a protective shield of glass.

Later Life and Local Support

Following the initial backlash, with support from the townspeople and well-wishers around the world, Giménez went on to hold an exhibition of her paintings featuring 28 of her personal works.

She was commended by Borja's mayor for her kind-hearted nature and years of faithful service to the parish.

In the end, what began as a well-intentioned but unsuccessful act of restoration created an improbable piece of pop culture and brought unprecedented tourist revenue to a humble Spanish town.