Spanish-born Woman Who Gained Fame for Botching a Famous Painting Repair Dies at the Age of 94
The Spanish parishioner who achieved global fame for her infamous restoration attempt on a valuable religious painting has passed away at the age 94.
The woman, 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 known as Ecce Homo housed within her parish church.
Giménez's handiwork quickly went viral and was dubbed "Potato Jesus", largely due to the altered depiction 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 very early age".
"Rest in peace Cecilia, your memory will live on with us," Arilla wrote.
Arilla also paid tribute to Giménez's "now-legendary restoration of Ecce Homo" in the summer of 2012, which "due to the poor state of conservation it was in, Cecilia, with the best intentions, decided to apply new paint over the original".
The Artwork's Background and the Fateful Intervention
The Ecce Homo ("Behold the Man" in Latin) painted by nineteenth-century artist Elias Garcia Martinez had resided for over a century in the Sanctuary of Mercy Church 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 local priest to do the work.
She also noted that anyone who came into the church would have seen she was applying paint to the original artwork.
An Unexpected Tourist Boom
The impact of the restoration spawned the "Ecce Mono" internet phenomenon and transformed the once quiet town of Borja quickly become a significant tourist destination.
The town, which had previously welcomed just 5,000 visitors per year, attracted over 40,000 tourists by 2013, and managed to raise more than €50,000 for charity from the attention.
Currently, officials say that somewhere around 15,000 and 20,000 tourists travel to Borja each year to see the famous painting, which is now displayed behind a protective shield of glass.
Legacy and Local Admiration
Following the wave of criticism, backed by the townspeople and well-wishers globally, Giménez went on to stage an exhibition of her paintings showcasing twenty-eight of her own paintings.
She was praised by the mayor for her generosity and years of faithful service to the parish.
Ultimately, what began as a well-intentioned but flawed art repair forged an unlikely cultural icon and provided remarkable tourist revenue to a small Spanish town.
