Spanish Parishioner Who Found Fame for Mishandling a Prized Fresco Repair Dies at Age 94
The Spanish parishioner who made international headlines for her poorly executed repair job on a cherished Jesus Christ fresco has died 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 attempted to repaint a 100-year-old fresco titled Ecce Homo housed within her local church.
Giménez's handiwork quickly went viral and was dubbed "Potato Jesus", largely due to the altered likeness of Christ's head looking somewhat like a hairy monkey.
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 described her as a "great enthusiast of painting from a very early age".
"Descansa en paz Cecilia, we will always remember you," the mayor posted.
Arilla further referenced Giménez's "now-legendary restoration of Ecce Homo" in August 2012, which "because of the deteriorated condition it presented, Cecilia, with the best intentions, chose to repaint the work over".
The Painting's Background and the Fateful Intervention
The Ecce Homo ("This is the Man" in Latin) by nineteenth-century painter Elias Garcia Martinez had been held for over a century in the Santuario de la Misericordia close to Zaragoza.
In 2012, Giménez, who was 81 years old, stated that church members had "traditionally fixed everything here", and that she had received permission from the parish priest to proceed.
She also noted that anybody who entered the church would have seen she was painting over the original image.
An Unexpected Tourist Boom
The impact of the repaint job led to the creation of the "Ecce Mono" meme and transformed the previously sleepy town of Borja quickly become a significant tourist destination.
The town, which had in the past seen only 5,000 visitors per year, attracted more than 40,000 tourists by 2013, and generated over €50,000 for charity from the attention.
Currently, officials say that between 15,000 and 20,000 tourists visit Borja every year to see the famous portrait, which is now displayed behind a pane of glass.
Later Life and Local Support
Following the initial backlash, with support from the townspeople and well-wishers globally, Giménez later stage an art exhibition showcasing twenty-eight of her personal paintings.
She was commended by the mayor for her generosity and years of dedication to the parish.
In the end, what began as a sincere but flawed act of restoration forged an unlikely piece of pop culture and brought remarkable tourist revenue to a small Spanish town.