Spanish-born Parishioner Who Found Fame for Mishandling a Prized Painting Restoration Has Died at the Age of 94
The elderly woman from Spain who achieved global fame for her poorly executed repair job on a valuable religious painting has passed away at the age of 94.
The woman, from the town of Borja in northeast Spain, became a global sensation thirteen years ago after she attempted to restore a 100-year-old painting known as Ecce Homo located in her local church.
Giménez's restoration effort spread across the internet and was dubbed "Potato Jesus", largely due to the altered likeness of Christ's head bearing a resemblance to a furry primate.
Official Announcement and Homage
The nonagenarian's passing was confirmed by Borja's mayor, Eduardo Arilla, via an online statement, where he described her as a "great lover of painting from a very early age".
"Descansa en paz Cecilia, your memory will live on with us," Arilla wrote.
Arilla further referenced Giménez's "famous restoration of Ecce Homo" in August 2012, which "because of the deteriorated condition it presented, 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 been held for more than a century in the Sanctuary of Mercy Church near Zaragoza.
At the time, Giménez, then 81, explained that church members had "traditionally fixed everything here", and that she had been given the go-ahead from the parish priest to do the work.
She also noted that anybody who entered the Church would have seen she was applying paint to the existing artwork.
An Unexpected Economic Lifeline
The impact of the repaint job led to the creation of the "Monkey Christ" internet phenomenon and transformed the previously sleepy town of Borja quickly become a significant visitor attraction.
The municipality, which had previously welcomed just 5,000 visitors per year, attracted more than 40,000 tourists by 2013, and generated over €50,000 for charity from the interest.
Today, local authorities say that somewhere around 15,000 and 20,000 tourists visit Borja each year to view the notorious painting, which is now protected by a protective shield of glass.
Legacy and Local Support
Following the wave of criticism, with support from local residents and others globally, Giménez later hold an exhibition of her paintings featuring 28 of her own paintings.
She was praised by Borja's mayor for her generosity and decades of dedication to the parish.
Ultimately, what began as a well-intentioned but flawed art repair forged an unlikely cultural icon and brought remarkable tourist revenue to a small Spanish town.
