🔗 Share this article Spanish Parishioner Who Found Notoriety for Botching a Famous Painting Repair Has Died at Age 94 The restoration of the Ecce Homo fresco. The Spanish parishioner 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 thirteen years ago after she attempted to repaint a century-old painting titled Ecce Homo housed within her local 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 furry primate. Local Confirmation and Homage The 94-year-old's death was announced by Borja's mayor, Eduardo Arilla, in a social media post, where he acknowledged her as a "great enthusiast of painting from a very early age". "Descansa en paz Cecilia, we will always remember you," Arilla wrote. Arilla also paid tribute to Giménez's "now-legendary restoration of Ecce Homo" in August 2012, which "due to the poor state of conservation it presented, Cecilia, acting in good faith, chose to apply new paint over the original". The Painting's Background and the Now-Infamous Intervention The Ecce Homo ("This is the Man" in Latin) painted by 19th century artist Elias Garcia Martinez had resided for more than a hundred years in the Sanctuary of Mercy Church close to Zaragoza. In 2012, Giménez, who was 81 years old, explained that church members had "traditionally fixed everything here", and that she had been given the go-ahead from the parish priest to proceed. She added at the time that anybody who entered the church would have observed she was applying paint to the existing image. An Unexpected Economic Lifeline The impact of the restoration led to the creation of the "Monkey Christ" internet phenomenon and saw the previously sleepy town of Borja rapidly turn into a significant visitor attraction. 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 interest. Today, officials estimate that between 15,000 and 20,000 tourists travel to Borja each year to view the famous portrait, which is now displayed behind a pane of glass. Later Life and Local Admiration Following the initial backlash, with support from local residents and others around the world, Giménez went on to stage an exhibition of her paintings featuring twenty-eight of her own works. She was praised by Borja's mayor for her kind-hearted nature and years of faithful service to the parish. In the end, what began as a sincere but unsuccessful art repair forged an unlikely cultural icon and provided unprecedented tourist revenue to a humble Spanish town.