🔗 Share this article Spanish Woman Who Found Notoriety for Botching a Famous Painting Restoration Has Died at Age 94 Cecilia Giménez's restoration of the century-old fresco. The Spanish parishioner who made international headlines for her infamous restoration attempt on a valuable religious painting has passed away at the age of 94. The woman, a resident of the town of Borja in northern Spain, rose to prominence thirteen years ago after she attempted to restore a 100-year-old fresco known as Ecce Homo located in her local church. Giménez's handiwork spread across the internet and was dubbed "Potato Jesus", largely due to the resulting likeness of Christ's head looking somewhat like a hairy monkey. Local Announcement and Tribute The 94-year-old's passing 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 further referenced Giménez's "now-legendary restoration of Ecce Homo" in August 2012, which "because of the poor state of conservation it presented, Cecilia, with the best intentions, decided to repaint the work over". The Painting's Background and the Now-Infamous Act The Ecce Homo ("This is the Man" in Latin) painted by nineteenth-century artist Elias Garcia Martinez had resided for over a hundred years in the Santuario de la Misericordia 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 parish priest to proceed. She added at the time that anyone who entered the Church would have seen she was painting over the original artwork. A Surprising Economic Lifeline The aftermath of the restoration spawned the "Monkey Christ" meme and saw the once quiet town of Borja rapidly turn into a significant visitor attraction. The municipality, which had previously welcomed just 5,000 visitors per year, received over 40,000 tourists by 2013, and managed to raise over €50,000 for charity from the attention. Today, local authorities say that somewhere around 15,000 and 20,000 tourists travel to Borja every year to view the notorious portrait, which is now protected by a protective shield of glass. Legacy and Community Admiration After recovering from the wave of criticism, with support from local residents and well-wishers globally, Giménez later hold an exhibition of her paintings featuring 28 of her own paintings. She was commended by Borja's mayor for her kind-hearted nature and years of faithful service to the church. Ultimately, what began as a well-intentioned but unsuccessful art repair created an improbable piece of pop culture and brought unprecedented tourist revenue to a small Spanish town.