Spanish-born Parishioner Who Gained Notoriety for Mishandling a Famous Fresco Repair Has Died at Age 94
The Spanish parishioner who achieved global fame for her infamous restoration attempt on a cherished religious painting has passed away at the age 94.
The woman, a resident of the town of Borja in northeast Spain, became a global sensation 13 years ago after she undertook to repaint a century-old fresco known as Ecce Homo located in her local church.
Giménez's restoration effort spread across the internet and earned the moniker "Potato Jesus", because the resulting likeness of Christ's head bearing a resemblance to a hairy monkey.
Official Confirmation and Homage
The 94-year-old's passing was confirmed by Borja's mayor, Eduardo Arilla, in a social media post, where he acknowledged her as a "passionate lover 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 the summer of 2012, which "because of the poor state of conservation it was in, Cecilia, acting in good faith, decided to repaint the work over".
The Artwork's Background and the Fateful Intervention
The Ecce Homo ("Behold the Man" in Latin) by nineteenth-century painter Elias Garcia Martinez had resided for over a hundred years 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 proceed.
She added at the time that anybody who came into the church would have observed she was painting over the original artwork.
An Unexpected Tourist Boom
The aftermath of the restoration led to the creation of the "Monkey Christ" internet phenomenon and transformed the once quiet town of Borja quickly become a major tourist destination.
The town, which had in the past seen only five thousand visitors per year, attracted more than 40,000 tourists by 2013, and managed to raise over €50,000 for charity from the attention.
Currently, officials estimate that between 15,000 and 20,000 tourists visit Borja every year to view the notorious painting, which is now protected by a pane of glass.
Legacy and Local Support
After recovering from the initial backlash, with support from local residents and others globally, Giménez later stage an exhibition of her paintings showcasing 28 of her personal paintings.
She was praised by the mayor for her generosity and decades of dedication to the parish.
In the end, what began as a well-intentioned but unsuccessful art repair forged an improbable piece of pop culture and brought remarkable tourist revenue to a small Spanish town.
