Spanish-born Parishioner Who Found Notoriety for Botching a Prized Fresco Repair Has Died at the Age of 94
The elderly woman from Spain who achieved global fame for her infamous restoration attempt on a cherished Jesus Christ fresco has passed away at the age 94.
Cecilia Giménez, from the town of Borja in northeast Spain, rose to prominence 13 years ago after she undertook to repaint a century-old fresco titled Ecce Homo located in her parish church.
Giménez's handiwork quickly went viral and earned the moniker "Monkey Christ", because the resulting depiction of Christ's head looking somewhat like a furry primate.
Local Confirmation and Tribute
The nonagenarian's death was confirmed by Borja's mayor, Eduardo Arilla, via an online statement, where he acknowledged her as a "great enthusiast of painting from a very early age".
"Descansa en paz Cecilia, your memory will live on with us," the mayor posted.
Arilla further referenced Giménez's "now-legendary restoration of Ecce Homo" in the summer of 2012, which "because of the poor state of conservation it presented, Cecilia, with the best intentions, chose to repaint the work over".
The Painting's Background and the Now-Infamous Act
The Ecce Homo ("This is the Man" in Latin) by nineteenth-century painter Elias Garcia Martinez had been held for more than a century in the Santuario de la Misericordia near Zaragoza.
In 2012, Giménez, then 81, stated that parishioners had "always repaired 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 seen she was applying paint to the existing artwork.
A Surprising Tourist Boom
The impact of the repaint job spawned the "Ecce Mono" internet phenomenon and transformed the previously sleepy town of Borja quickly become a significant visitor attraction.
The town, which had previously welcomed just five thousand tourists per year, received over 40,000 tourists by 2013, and generated over €50,000 for charity from the interest.
Today, local authorities estimate that between 15,000 and 20,000 tourists visit Borja each year to view the famous painting, which is now displayed behind a pane of glass.
Legacy and Local Admiration
Following the initial backlash, backed by the townspeople and well-wishers globally, Giménez later hold an art exhibition featuring twenty-eight of her own works.
She was commended by the mayor for her generosity and decades of dedication 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 provided remarkable attention and resources to a small Spanish town.
